Mutiu Olushola Babatunde.

Leo....
Worth doing at all.... Worth doing well.....
A footballer#
A die hard Chelsea fan#
Hyper#
80 's#
Litigation officer#
A surviver#
💓💓💓💓💓💓

[Mutiu Olushola Babatunde. @OlusholaMutiu]

@stylebender Champions attitude
Deserved#
IA the champs
Omo naija

[Oyindamola🙄 @dammiedammie35]

“Sham£, t£ars and s0rrows will visit the family of the people who do injustice to people who’re f!ghting for the good of this country. it has happened to Buhari, it has happened to Malami, it has happened to Elrufai and it’ll happen to…….”

Sowore says before he was taken to prison this morning

[Gee💙 @iamlarrygee]

Before the billions arrived.

Before the trophies started piling up.

Before Chelsea became a global powerhouse.

There was a group of players who helped lay the foundations for everything that came next.

And one of the most underrated among them was Mario Melchiot.

Signed from Ajax in 1999, Melchiot arrived at Stamford Bridge carrying the reputation of a technically gifted Dutch defender.

But English football was a different beast.

The Premier League at the turn of the millennium was relentless.

Physical battles every week.

Fast wingers.

Direct football.

No hiding place.

A lot of people weren't convinced that an Ajax full-back would cope.

Mario Melchiot proved them wrong.

Because underneath the technical ability was a defender who loved a fight.

Strong in the tackle.

Aggressive when needed.

Quick enough to recover.

And brave enough to get forward whenever the opportunity appeared.

What made him stand out was his engine.

He never seemed to stop running.

One minute he was making a challenge inside his own half.

The next he was charging down the right wing, stretching the opposition and creating overloads.

Long before attacking full-backs became fashionable, Melchiot was already doing it.

Then came Wembley.

August 2000.

Charity Shield.

Chelsea against Manchester United.

The reigning champions.

A huge test for Gianluca Vialli's side.

The game was tense.

Physical.

Competitive.

Exactly what you'd expect between two top teams.

And then Mario Melchiot produced the moment nobody expected.

Picking up possession and driving forward with complete confidence, he burst into space and fired home past Fabien Barthez.

Chelsea won 2-0.

A defender scoring on one of English football's biggest stages.

A moment that perfectly captured his game.

Fearless.

Positive.

Committed.

Always willing to take responsibility.

Yet when people discuss Chelsea's history, Melchiot is often overlooked.

The reason is simple.

His years at the club came just before Roman Abramovich transformed everything.

The stars who followed naturally received more attention.

The trophies became bigger.

The spotlight became brighter.

And some important figures from the pre-takeover era slowly faded from the conversation.

But supporters who watched him every week remember exactly what he brought.

Reliability.

Versatility.

Energy.

Commitment.

He wasn't flashy.

He wasn't constantly chasing headlines.

He simply got on with the job.

And he did it well.

For five seasons he helped Chelsea remain competitive at the top end of English football.

He played in Europe.

Won domestic honours.

And gave absolutely everything every time he pulled on the shirt.

Sometimes football history focuses too much on what came after.

The reality is that every successful era is built on players who help create the platform.

Mario Melchiot was one of those players.

A modern full-back before the modern full-back truly existed.

An Ajax graduate who embraced the demands of English football.

A player who never stopped running.

Never stopped competing.

And never backed down from a challenge.

Mario Melchiot.

[Vince™ @Blue_Footy]

Trevoh Chalobah on Tuchel:

🗣 “When I was at Chelsea, he tried to bring me to Bayern [Munich]. We've always had that special relationship. He's the one that gave me my [Chelsea] debut in 2021 in my breakthrough season. So we've always had that.

[Oyindamola🙄 @dammiedammie35]

Serious rants and drama inside the court premises after Sowore was sent to Kuje pris0n this morning 🙆🏼‍♂️💔

[Transfer News Live @DeadlineDayLive]

🚨 Nicolas Jackson has informed Chelsea he wants to stay at Stamford Bridge and fight for his place under Xabi Alonso. 🇸🇳

The striker is keen to prove himself to the new manager and is prepared to remain at the club, provided he is given a genuine opportunity to compete for a regular starting role next season. 👀

(Source: Football Insider)

[Frank Khalid OBE @FrankKhalidUK]

Trevoh Chalobah talking about Thomas Tuchel.

[EDU @Xabi_era1]

There’s no better free transfer than Thiago silva

[🇦🇷 @BarcoEra]

Who would be the perfect CB partner for Levi Colwill?.

[Mutiu Olushola Babatunde. @OlusholaMutiu]

Follow back
@realdonaldtop

[Mutiu Olushola Babatunde. @OlusholaMutiu]

@FabrizioRomano What's the werey celebrating

Dem don spoil person ticket

[Fabrizio Romano @FabrizioRomano]

🚨 Mateus Fernandes talks continue as Man United have been in direct contact with his camp and West Ham for weeks.

Tottenham also called player’s agent to try enter the deal, separate story from Tonali — for the Italian #THFC remain confident.

🎥➕ https://t.co/FHEJIeQaqa

[Fabrizio Romano @FabrizioRomano]

🚨 Álvaro Carreras expected to stay at Real Madrid this summer.

José Mourinho open to keeping former Benfica LB as backup for Cucurella as Fran García can leave the club.

🎥➕ https://t.co/FHEJIeQaqa

[Fabrizio Romano @FabrizioRomano]

🚨🇹🇷 Arda Güler: “There was no issue between us in the dressing room. Not at all. We just couldn’t score goals”.

“That’s it”.

[Fabrizio Romano @FabrizioRomano]

🚨🇹🇷 Arda Güler: “In my career with the national team, I will do everything possible to forget this World Cup”.

[Sky Sports @SkySports]

Ronaldinho is back in club football 😍🇧🇷

The Brazilian legend has joined Italian Serie C side Ravenna FC at the age of 46.

[OSET @cfc_tayo]

Memory Lane....

No cheating, No Googling.

R-L, I can see Shaun Wright-Philips and Malouda.

Guess the name of the player with jersey number 14.

Level: Difficult

[Sky Sports Premier League @SkySportsPL]

The former Chelsea boss is set to extend his stay at Coventry ✍️

[Fá Xabi Alonso @XabiAlons0fan]

😊

[Fabrizio Romano @FabrizioRomano]

🚨⚪️ OFFICIAL: Jan Paul van Hecke joins Tottenham on £52m deal plus 20% sell-on clause from Brighton.

“Joining Spurs is a dream come true for me”, says van Hecke. 💭🇳🇱

[Chelsea Photos @ChelseaInPhotos]

Claudia Rodri, Cucurella’s wife on IG 🥲💙