Branislav Ivanovic attained legendary status at Chelsea before he left the club to return to the Russian Premier Leaguefour years ago. The Serbian defender left Lokomotiv Moscow to sign for Chelsea in a £9m deal in January 2008 and he spent over nine years at Stamford Bridge. Branislav Ivanovic left Chelsea to join Zenit Saint Petersburg in the Russian top flight as a free agent in 2017.
His performances at Chelsea propelled Ivanovic to bag a spot on the list of the best Premier League players as far as the last decade is concerned. The Serbian was named on the Premier League Team of the Decade which was revealed by Premier League legend Alan Shearer.
Branislav Ivanovic returned to the Premier League briefly when he signed for West Brom as a free agent last summer on a one-year deal. He left the Baggies after their relegation from the Premier League at the end of last season and he has been without a club since then. In Premier League terms, Ivanovic has 20 goals and 22 assists in 274 appearances. Also, the Serbian utility player has 88 clean sheets in those games. The majority of the games were during his time at Chelsea where he won three Premier League titles.
Shearer named Branislav Ivanovic as one of the three players in the front of Chelsea legend Petr Cech in defence as regards the Premier League Team of the Decade. Apart from Ivanovic, ex-Chelsea teammate John Terry and Manchester City legend Vincent Kompany also made the three-man defence.
The Manchester City trio of Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva and Yaya Toure were named in midfield alongside Chelsea star N’Golo Kante who recently finished fifth in the latest Ballon d’Or rankings. The three forwards who made the team are Eden Hazard, Sergio Aguero and Wayne Rooney.