The 32-year-old ends his time at the club having won two Premier League titles, one Champions League, one Europa League, three FA Cups and one League Cup.

He is also one of only five foreign players – along with Didier Drogba, John Mikel Obi, Petr Cech and Gianfranco Zola – to reach the 300-game landmark for the Blues.

Tough, tenacious and highly committed, Ivanovic signed for the club in 2008 from Lokomotiv Moscow. Over the course of his nine years in west London he played at right-back and in central defence, performing with incredible consistency in both positions.

It was at right-back where he really began to establish himself in the Chelsea side, but his versatility ensured he was always able to fill in more centrally when required, as he did during the 2012 FA Cup final with both Gary Cahill and David Luiz out injured.

That 2011/12 campaign will live long in the memory as we were crowned kings of Europe after beating Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena. Though Ivanovic missed the Champions League final itself through suspension, the part he played in helping us get there will never be forgotten by the Chelsea faithful.

It was his sweet extra-time strike which proved decisive as we overturned a 3-1 first-leg deficit against Napoli in the last 16, and he completed both legs of the semi-final against Barcelona when we defended heroically as a team to secure our passage.