Former Chelsea fullback Albert Ferrer feels his old club are not yet in the elite.
The Spaniard enjoyed a late career swansong with the Blues after moving from Barcelona.
On joining Chelsea in 1998, he told AS: "I don't remember the first contact, yes a call from Gianluca Vialli, who was the coach. After talking to him, I didn't think about it. Chelsea was not what it is now, but it was a historic Premier team and the option of living in London convinced me.
"(Today Roman) Abramovich changed Chelsea from top to bottom. The only league they had had won in 1955. The training camp was in a rental facility, the locker rooms were barracks and you hardly saw journalists.
"I think in five years I only gave five press conferences. Nothing to do with the day to day of a club like Barcelona."
On Abramovich, Ferrer continued: "I left the summer he arrived and in a short time the transformation was seen. The Sports City was built, a lot of money was invested in signings. Chelsea went to another level, but it still has to live up to Liverpool, Juventus, Madrid or Barcelona.
"Being a great European means the titles. Chelsea had its time to make that final leap after proclaiming itself European Champion (2012). But it had no continuity. It's a great team, a great club, but it's on a second step."
