“Ross Barkley, FA Cup winner.”
Sound good, doesn’t it? Especially when considering he’s not kicked a ball in the competition since January. Still, it was a memorable way for Ross Barkley to cap a completely forgettable season. The 24-year-old arrived at Chelsea from Everton midway through the campaign, though it appeared he was close to completing the move months earlier.
Barkley’s transfer to Stamford Bridge collapsed at the eleventh hour last summer with some reports at the time claiming he’d even completed a medical. Though the midfielder has since moved to clarify that this wasn’t the case, explaining he decided against the move as he wanted to focus on recovering from injury first, it still left a bitter taste in Evertonian mouths when it eventually happened.
Barkley’s Everton contract was due to expire this summer, meaning those few months saw the fee the Merseyside club would have received for him tumble drastically. It also saw them pay out his wages a while longer while he continued to recover from injury, only to leave without making any further appearances for the club he joined as an 11-year-old.
Since moving to Chelsea, he’s hardly made an impact. Of the four appearances to his name this season, only one of them – the 3-0 win over Newcastle in the fourth round in January – has not ended in defeat.
Still, Barkley was at least an unused substitute as Chelsea beat Manchester United 1-0 at Wembley on Saturday, enough for him to be involved when it came to lift the trophy.
You know the words! 🎶🏆🙌 #FACupFinal pic.twitter.com/2iDfx0tv52
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) May 19, 2018
This, as the Twitter reaction showed, was an amusing sight for many watching at home.
Ross Barkley, unused sub in full kit, 2 starts all season & 2 sub appearances, celebrating wildly. 😂👍🏻
— UpperGwladysBlue (@UpperGwladysBlu) May 19, 2018
If Ross Barkley got a winners medal for his contribution I want one
— Harry Hesketh (@HarryHesketh) May 19, 2018
https://twitter.com/ThePeoplesClub_/status/997956355372744709
I actually feel awkward for Ross Barkley like it’s making me uncomfortable watching him have no mates https://t.co/Rop4rcossb
— Becky (@Becky_EFC) May 20, 2018
Ross Barkley looking very out of place here 😂 https://t.co/ptCK4a7T4G
— Jase (@Jase_1878) May 20, 2018
Ross Barkley, who has started only two games more than I have for Chelsea this season 👌 https://t.co/nFfny3aXry
— ǝɯǝɐɹ⅁ (@Gee__Raah) May 19, 2018
https://twitter.com/ViktorBoskovic/status/997958789826572289
https://twitter.com/GarethL20/status/997951446585937923
Poor Ross.
Chelsea made up for some of the disappointment of their league campaign by winning the Cup. Having started the season as Premier League champions, they finished fifth – outside of the Champions League places.
