Top 6 players who have played for Chelsea and Fulham—Ranked

The final game on the opening weekend of the Premier League season sees two clubs located just 1.6 miles apart go head-to-head. Chelsea will make the very short journey across the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, to take their very local rivals at Craven Cottage.

To date, 23 men have made at least one senior appearance for both the Blues and the Cottagers; a complete list can be found at the bottom. Before we get to that, we've ranked the best six players to represent both West London clubs.

6: Ruben Loftus-Cheek

Ruben Loftus-Cheek spent almost two decades on Chelsea's books, but did spent time across the Borough too. After signing as an eight year old, the Englishman appeared 155 times for the Blues at senior level, winning a Premier League title and the Europa League, bagging a hat-trick against BATE Borisov in the latter competition.

He eventually departed for A.C. Milan in 2023 but, before that, spent a campaign each on loan at Crystal Palace and Fulham. In the lockdown season, as Scott Parker's hodgepodge squad endured a miserable relegation, Loftus-Cheek made 32 appearances, albeit doing so in a terrible team.

5: André Schürrle

You could say this about a lot of former Chelsea players, but André Schürrle had a strange career. He won the World Cup, but never made more than 83 appearances for any single club, retiring at the age of just 29. With the Blues, he won the Premier League and EFL Cup in 2014/15 under José Mourinho, scoring 14 times in 65 outings overall.

Following stints with Wolfsburg and Borussia Dortmund, he returned to England's capital by joining Fulham on loan for the 2018/19 season. The German did score six times in 24 Premier League matches for the Whites, as they suffered relegation, and Schürrle's name may well have already been forgotten by both sets of fanbases.

4: Wayne Bridge

A key member of the first Chelsea team to enjoy Premier League success under Mourinho, Wayne Bridge made 142 appearances for the Blues in the mid-to-late 2000s, winning three major honours. He will also go down in history as the man who scored the winner at Highbury to eliminate Arsenal in the Champions League quarter-finals back in 2004.

In the middle of his Chelsea spell, the left-back was loaned out to Fulham, starting just 12 Premier League games for the Cottagers in 2006, making very little impression, albeit the same cannot be said of his time with the Blues, where he remains a cult hero.

3: Eiður Guðjohnsen

Eiður Guðjohnsen had a 22-year long career, representing 16 different clubs in ten countries, but he certainly gave his best yers to Chelsea. Iceland's greatest ever player made 263 appearances for the Blues, by far the most of any club in his career, scoring 78 goals, almost the same number as for every other club he featured combined.

During this period, Guðjohnsen won two Premier League titles and the League Cup, before being sold to Barcelona in 2006. He also had a very brief loan spell at Fulham, representing the Cottagers just ten times in 2011, scoring zero goals. Thus, he is far more fondly remembered by one half of the Borough than the other.

2: Damien Duff

Sticking with Chelsea's success in the early-2000s, fans who remember that era will never forget quite how good Damien Duff was at the peak. After arriving from Blackburn, the Republic of Ireland international scored 19 goals and registered 30 assists during three seasons at Stamford Bridge, a key figure in the Mourinho team that won back-to-back titles.

After more players were signed, Duff was sold to Newcastle in 2006, before ending up at Fulham, appearing 173 times for the Whites, almost 50 more than he managed at Chelsea. Earlier this summer, he completed the West London Premier League set by joining Brentford as a first-team assistant coach, having previously led Shelbourne to a first League of Ireland title in 18 years.

1: Willian

It is very rare that any player is beloved by two fanbases who otherwise do not like each other. Well, this has been achieved by Willian, who spent seven years at Chelsea, scoring 63 goals in 339 appearances, winning five major honours. To enhance his legacy even further, when the Brazilian left the club, he went to Arsenal, which otherwise would not help, but was absolutely hopeless.

At that time, Willian appeared to be completely finished at the top level so, after an equally miserable stint at Corinthians, it was a surprise to see him at Fulham. Nevertheless, across two spells at Craven Cottage, he became a fans' favourite, netting ten times, including rifling home during an historic win over Chelsea, emphatically making sure not to celebrate.

Every player to play for Chelsea and Fulham

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