Chelsea Football Club was founded on 10 March 1905 at The Rising Sun pub, opposite Stamford Bridge in west London. The stadium already existed when the club was formed, and Chelsea were elected to the Football League shortly afterwards. The team adopted blue as its defining colour and attracted prominent players during its early decades, although major trophies took time to arrive.
Chelsea won their first English league championship in 1954-55 under manager Ted Drake. The club developed a reputation for producing entertaining sides during the 1960s and 1970s, with players such as Peter Bonetti, Ron Harris, Peter Osgood and Charlie Cooke becoming important figures. Chelsea won the League Cup in 1965 and their first FA Cup in 1970, defeating Leeds United after a replay. A year later, they beat Real Madrid in another replay to win the European Cup Winners’ Cup.
Financial difficulties connected partly to the redevelopment of Stamford Bridge affected Chelsea during the late 1970s and 1980s. The club spent periods outside the top division before recovering. Another successful era began during the 1990s. Ruud Gullit led the team to the FA Cup in 1997, while Gianluca Vialli subsequently guided a squad featuring Gianfranco Zola, Roberto Di Matteo and Dennis Wise to the League Cup and European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1998.
Roman Abramovich bought the blues in 2003, bringing major investment and significant changes to the playing squad. Jose Mourinho became manager in 2004 after winning the Champions League with Porto. With players including captain John Terry, Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba, Petr Cech, Claude Makelele and Arjen Robben, Chelsea won the 2004-05 Premier League with 95 points. They retained the championship in 2005-06.
The London club remained regular contenders for domestic and European honours. Carlo Ancelotti led the club to a Premier League and FA Cup double in 2009-10, with Drogba winning the league’s Golden Boot and Lampard producing the highest-scoring season of his Chelsea career. The club’s greatest European breakthrough came two years later.
Chelsea reached the 2012 Champions League final against Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena. Thomas Muller put Bayern ahead late in the match, but Drogba equalised before Cech saved an extra-time penalty from Robben. The final went to a shootout, where Drogba converted the decisive penalty to give Chelsea their first European Cup. The club followed that success by winning the Europa League under Rafael Benitez in 2013.
Mourinho returned and delivered another Premier League championship in 2014-15. Antonio Conte then led Chelsea to the 2016-17 title with players including Eden Hazard, Diego Costa and N’Golo Kante. Maurizio Sarri’s team won the Europa League in 2019, defeating Arsenal 4-1 in the final, with Hazard scoring twice in his final competitive appearance for the club.
A second Champions League triumph arrived in 2021 under Thomas Tuchel. Chelsea defeated Manchester City 1-0 in Porto after Kai Havertz scored the only goal. A team featuring N’Golo Kante, Mason Mount, Thiago Silva and captain Cesar Azpilicueta subsequently won the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup.
A consortium led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital completed its purchase of Chelsea in 2022. The following seasons brought extensive changes to the squad and coaching staff. Enzo Maresca became head coach in 2024 and guided the club back into the Champions League while also winning the UEFA Conference League in 2024-25. Chelsea defeated Real Betis 4-1 in the final, becoming the first club to win all four major UEFA men’s club competitions.
Chelsea added another international trophy in July 2025 by winning the expanded FIFA Club World Cup in the United States. Cole Palmer scored twice and created another goal as the team defeated Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 in the final in New Jersey. Liam Rosenior became head coach in January 2026 and remains in charge during the 2026-27 season, with Stamford Bridge continuing as Chelsea’s home ground. Fans of the club may visit the official site of Chelsea for interviews and features.
