Paulo Ferreira a long time servant of Chelsea

Chelsea fans will never forget the contribution of Paulo Ferreira to the club.

He was brought in by Jose Mourinho when he took charge of the club in 2004 and quickly established himself as an important player for the team. More than his performance was the fact that he showed loyalty to the club despite interests from other sides.

Paulo Ferreira was part of the Porto team that won the Champions League in 2004 under Jose Mourinho. When the latter signed for Chelsea, Paulo Ferreira came with him together with his Porto teammate Ricardo Carvalho. He established himself as a pillar of the defence and helped Chelsea won their first title since 50 years.

He will score his first goal two years later during an FA Cup match where Chelsea beat Colchester 3-1. However as from 2006 he will see his playing time decrease with Mourinho favoring players such as Khalid Boulahrouz, Diarra, and Geremi. Despite this fact, Paulo Ferreira will stay at the club and will even sign a five-year deal that will see him stay at Chelsea on the long-term.

He revealed in an interview that the reason for him remaining at Chelsea was that he wanted to fight for his place. Although he knew that it was going to be difficult to get playing time, he said that he had a fighting spirit that kept him motivated.

It is this attitude that makes him a favorite player with the Chelsea fans. Another player would have already left the club by then but not Paulo Ferreira. He stayed at the club and was always present whenever the manager needed him on the pitch. There were many interests from clubs like West Ham at that time, but he resisted the lure of first-team football and committed himself with Chelsea.