Chelsea player who slept with team doctor Eva Carneiro

• Branislav Ivanović is a popular name anytime you wonder which Chelsea player slept with Eva Carneiro
• He is Serbian and played for Chelsea for eight years
• Towards the end of his stint with Chelsea, he had eyes for Carneiro only

Branislav Ivanović is a popular name anytime you wonder which Chelsea player slept with Eva Carneiro, a former team doctor.

Chelsea acquired the Serbian international from Lokomotiv Moscow on January 16, 2008. His signing went very well. Ivanovic’s nine-year stint at Stamford Bridge had everything, from scoring the game-winning goal in a European final to getting bit by Luis Suarez.

Towards the tail end of his stint with the Blues, then under Jose Mourinho, reports of his love affair with Carneiro emerged.  The intimate bond between Ivanovic and Carneiro became clear following Chelsea’s victory over Benfica in the 2013 UEFA Europa League. The defender picked her up off the ground during the celebration and swirled her before letting her touch the ground.

It is then that full-blown reports emerged of his love affair with Ivanovic.

Former Chelsea player Branislav Ivanović. Photo/ESPN

WHAT IS EVA CARNEIRO DOING NOW?

Eva Carneiro is a doctor and sports medicine specialist. She is known for her work as the first-team doctor for Chelsea Football Club in the English Premier League, a position she held from 2009 to 2015.

She joined the team shortly after Ivanovic joined the Blues in 2008. They clicked in an instant, which blew up to which Chelsea player slept with Eva seven years later.

Far from her romantic exploits, Carneiro also has experience working with other sports teams and organizations, including the Gibraltar national football team and the British Olympic Association. After leaving Chelsea, she has focused on her medical practice, and she is also an advocate for Women’s rights in sports medicine and sports industry.

WHY DID EVA CARNEIRO LEAVE?

The sassy 49-year-old doctor left the team in September 2015 after a public dispute with the team’s then-manager, José Mourinho. Around the same time, the team was battling a controversy over which Chelsea player slept with Eva.

Nevertheless, the dispute arose from an incident during a match where Carneiro and a physiotherapist ran onto the field to treat an injured player. This resulted in Chelsea temporarily playing with only nine players on the field. Mourinho criticized Carneiro and the physiotherapist for their actions, and Carneiro was subsequently demoted from her role as a first-team doctor. She left the team thereafter and delved into private practice.

After leaving Chelsea Football Club in September 2015, Carneiro made a damning statement. She said that her “position as the first-team doctor” was “untenable” and that she had “been effectively sidelined” from her role. She also said that she was “disappointed” by the events that led to her departure.

She added that she was subject to bullying, discrimination, and a lack of support from specific individuals at the club. Carneiro also said she was “thankful” for the support she had received from many club members and fans. Eight years later, Chelsea fans still hope she will return to Stamford Bridge.

WHY WAS MOURINHO ANGRY WITH EVA?

At the height of which Chelsea player was sleeping with Eva, Mourinho was the then-manager of Chelsea Football Club. He was apparently angry with Carneiro, the team’s medical doctor.

She and a physiotherapist ran onto the field to treat an injured player during a match, resulting in Chelsea temporarily playing with only nine players. Mourinho felt that Carneiro and the physiotherapist’s actions were unnecessary and that they had cost the team a chance to win the match. He publicly criticized Carneiro, and she was demoted from her first-team doctor role.

His public criticism of her and reprimanding her opened the gates of cyberbullying and discrimination. It became a pain point every day she spent at Stamford Bridge, and she eventually left the club then under Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich.

Former Chelsea doctor Eva Carneiro. Photo/The Times

WHY DID CHELSEA SACK EVA CARNEIRO?

Chelsea did not sack Eva Carneiro, but rather she left the club in September 2015 after a public dispute with the team’s then-manager Mourinho. The dispute arose from an incident during a match where Carneiro and a physiotherapist ran onto the field to treat an injured player.

This led to Chelsea temporarily playing with only nine players, and Mourinho criticized Carneiro and the physiotherapist for their actions. Carneiro was subsequently demoted from her role as a first-team doctor. She later decided to leave the club due to the events that led to her demotion and the lack of support from certain club members.

Further, she discounted rumours in the past that her exit from the Blues had something to do with the infamous debate on which Chelsea player slept with Eva.