Hernan Crespo

Hernan Crespo joined Chelsea in August 2003 for £16.8m, signing a four year contract at half time in a Champions League match against MSK Zilina at Stamford Bridge.

It was a long way from Florida in Argentina, where Crespo was born in 1975. He shot to fame in his home country in the mid-90s when he was playing for River Plate and was top scorer in the Clausura in 1993-94.

He made his debut for Argentina in February 1995 against Bulgaria, a match which his team won 4-1. In his final season in Argentina, he helped River win the Copa Libertadores in 1996, as well as winning an Olympic silver medal with his country.

That summer he made the lucrative move to Europe and quickly made an impression in Serie A with Parma, scoring 12 goals in his first season. After mostly missing out in the 1998 World Cup, he fired 28 goals in during the 98/99 season.

In 2000, he became the most expensive player in the world when Lazio paid £36.5m for him. He initially struggled to live up to his price-tag, but soon got back into his stride. When Lazio's finances turned sour in 2002, Internazionale swooped for him as a replacement for Ronaldo.

However, a year later, they were willing to part with him when Roman Abramovich's millions came calling and he was able to link up with former Lazio team-mate Juan Sebastian Veron at Chelsea.

Unfortunately, like Veron, Crespo took time to find his feet in England and generally disappointed in his first season at Stamford Bridge. When he returned for pre-season training late, new boss Jose Mourinho was not happy, and Crespo soon joined Italian champions AC Milan on loan for a season.

He scored twice against Manchester United in the Champions League knockout stages to help Milan along their way to the final. He also scored twice in the final, but was left heartbroken at the end as Liverpool went on to win on penalties.

Crespo insisted that he wanted to stay on at Milan for another year, but boss Jose Mourinho persuaded him to return to Stamford Bridge for the 2005/06 season, where he scored a 90th minute winner against pluky newboys Wigan Athletic on the opening day of the campaign.