Photo: Антон Зайцев / CC BY-SA 3.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Nine players have joined Chelsea already holding a World Cup winners' medal, with Enzo Fernandez the most recent arrival when he signed from Benfica in early 2023.
The first to arrive were Frenchmen Didier Deschamps and Emmanuel Petit, both part of France's 1998 triumph. Deschamps signed from Juventus in 1999 and spent one season at the club. Petit followed two years later under Claudio Ranieri, making 76 appearances in all competitions and helping Chelsea qualify for the Champions League before leaving.
Brazilian right-back Juliano Belletti won the 2002 World Cup before later joining Chelsea after three seasons at Barcelona, where he scored the winning goal in the 2006 Champions League final against Arsenal. He made 94 appearances for Chelsea over three years and won the Double in his final two matches for the club.
Marco Amelia, Italy's third-choice goalkeeper at the 2006 World Cup behind Gianluigi Buffon and Angelo Peruzzi, signed for Chelsea in October 2015 as cover following an injury to Thibaut Courtois. He never played a competitive match for the club.
Four members of Spain's 2010 World Cup-winning squad went on to sign for Chelsea. Fernando Torres arrived first, in the January 2011 transfer window. Juan Mata, who played once at the tournament, joined from Valencia months later. Cesc Fabregas — who assisted Andres Iniesta's World Cup final winner — signed in the summer of 2014. Pedro followed from Barcelona the next summer, and went on to score in Chelsea's Europa League final victory over Arsenal in Baku.
Enzo Fernandez completed the list when he moved from Benfica to Stamford Bridge weeks after Argentina won the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The then 21-year-old scored against Mexico at the tournament and was named its best young player. He has since won the UEFA Conference League and the FIFA Club World Cup with Chelsea, and is now preparing to appear in his second World Cup final as Argentina bid to defend their title.