Whilst Jose Mourinho earned the right to turn his self-proclaimed “Special One” nickname into an undeniable title during his time at Stamford Bridge, there’s no denying that he had some of Chelsea’s best-ever players at his disposal to achieve that success.

At the peak of Roman Abramovich’s West London empire, it was the Blues who were spending big as the likes of Manchester City continued to only fantasise about league titles. As such, even during Mourinho’s second spell when the Citizens had more than discovered spending habits of their own, Chelsea and their Portuguese manager still came away with a Premier League title to their name.

It was during that second stint from 2013 to 2015 that a certain Eden Hazard took English football by storm. The Belgian’s tricky feet remain some of the best that English football has arguably seen and the guidance of Mourinho only saw him reach new levels.

The Special One had nothing but special things to say about his star man during that time too. He even went as far as to say that Hazard was better than Cristiano Ronaldo in 2015, telling reporters: “Last season, yes [Hazard was better],” Mourinho said. “In spite of the fact that Ronaldo was fantastic. He was fantastic. He scored an incredible number of goals.

“I am not saying he is not fantastic. I am just saying that, in my personal view, every football player in the world should understand that a team has to be in front and no titles.”

Appearances

125

Goals

36

Assists

26

With 62 goal involvements in 125 appearances under Mourinho, the praise that Hazard received should come as no surprise. But as impressed as the former Chelsea boss often was by the winger, he opted to pick another Stamford Bridge legend as the club’s best-ever signing.

Mourinho: Drogba is the "best" ever Chelsea signing

Before the days of Hazard running rings around Premier League defences, the Chelsea crown was Didier Drogba’s to wear and Mourinho quickly sent a timely reminder about that in 2015.

When speaking about the best signings and players in Chelsea’s history, the then-manager wasted no time before name-dropping the legendary striker.

“Didier arrived at Stamford Bridge for 24 million pounds, but he is probably the best-value Chelsea player ever. In my first written report to Mr. Abramovich in relation to my plans for the club, I gave the names of some players.

“Big names were arriving at Chelsea in that period. The previous summer, for example, Claude Makelele came from Real Madrid and Hernan Crespo came from Inter, among others, but Didier was unknown and the price was very, very high.

“Yet I knew as clearly as I have ever done that he was the player I wanted. I was very strong to persuade my club to pay such an amount for him and I think we can already say he was the best-value signing for Chelsea in relation to what he has done for the club over so many years, and he is not finished yet.”

Having scored a total of 88 Premier League goals before taking his place as one of the best that has led any frontline in English football, it’s fair to say that Mourinho may well be right about his verdict on Drogba’s time at Chelsea.