RubenLoftus-Cheek

Ruben Loftus-Cheek was born in London on 23 January 1996 to parents of Guyanese origin, in a family of footballers: in addition to him there are his half-brothers Carl and Leon and his younger brother Joe. At the age of 8 he joined the Chelsea Academy and climbed through the various youth categories, making his professional debut in a Chelsea v Sporting Champions League game on 10 December 2014. A couple of months later, in February, he was promoted by Mourinho to the first team, winning the 2014/15 Premier League. In the same season he also won - together with Fikayo Tomori - the UEFA Youth League, playing the Final against Shakhtar.

His first goal came on 10 January 2016, in the win over Scunthorpe in the FA Cup, and over the years he has also proven tactically versatile: after early experiences as a holding and attacking midfielder, he has also been used as a supporting striker, as a False Nine and as a wide midfielder and centre-back. His career found new momentum on loan at Crystal Palace in 2017/18, an experience that also earned him his first national-team call-up. After playing the 2018 World Cup with England, he returned to Chelsea and enjoyed, in 2018/19, his most prolific season (10 goals in 40 official appearances), proving to be a key member of Sarri's Europa League-winning side.

After another loan spell at Fulham in 2020/21, he returned as a Blues regular, winning a European Super Cup and missing the 2021 FIFA Club World Cup due to Covid-19. After 155 total appearances with Chelsea, the AC Milan call came in June 2023, an opportunity he embraced enthusiastically. In three Rossonero seasons he has made 100 appearances across all competitions, scoring 13 goals and winning the Supercoppa Italiana 2025 in Riyadh.