It will always be a mystery why a player of Kevin De Bruyne’s extraordinary talents was never given more of an opportunity to shine at Chelsea.De Bruyne signed for the Blues from Genk in 2012 before moving to Werder Bremen on loan for the 2012-13 campaign.The Belgium international impressed in the Bundesliga that season before returning to Chelsea ready to make an impact under the returning Jose Mourinho.However, De Bruyne ended up making just nine appearances for the Blues that season and failed to score a single goal. Only three of those appearances came in the Premier League.The midfielder was subsequently sold to Wolfsburg, where his sensational performances eventually led to a £55 million move to Manchester City in 2015.De Bruyne is now widely regarded as one of the best midfielders of his generation and is undoubtedly an all-time Premier League great.MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - MAY 23: Kevin De Bruyne of Manchester City celebrates with the Premier League Trophy as Manchester City are presented with the Trophy as they win the league following the Premier League match between Manchester City and Everton at Etihad Stadium on May 23, 2021 in Manchester, England. A limited number of fans will be allowed into Premier League stadiums as Coronavirus restrictions begin to ease in the UK. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)So, what on earth went wrong for him at Stamford Bridge?One of his former Chelsea teammates, Frank Lampard, was asked this question by Gary Lineker after the Belgian starred in a 5-2 win over Tunisia at the 2018 World Cup finals.In the process, however, Lampard and Didier Drogba ended up going viral on social media for a rather harsh burn about Marko Marin.LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 02: Marko Marin of Chelsea is shown a yellow card by referee Lee Mason after a strong tackle on Stephane Mbia of Queens Park Rangers during the Barclays Premier League match between Chelsea and Queens Park Rangers at Stamford Bridge on January 2, 2013 in London, England. (Photo by Ian Walton/Getty Images)Marin, once nicknamed ‘the German Messi’, joined Chelsea from Werder Bremen in 2012, but only made 16 appearances for the club before he was loaned to Sevilla, Fiorentina, Anderlecht and Trabzonspor.The former Germany international was eventually offloaded to Olympiacos on a permanent deal in 2016.Asked how Chelsea missed the talent of De Bruyne, Lampard responded: “I don’t think they missed it. We were there at the time and the talent was there. Technically, you could see everything he had.“The problem he had was that Chelsea had an embarrassment of riches. They had [Eden] Hazard, Oscar, [Juan] Mata, [Andre] Schurrle…”Drogba then interrupted and said: “Marko Marin…”Lampard said: “They had all these players…” before stopping.Amused, he turned to Drogba and said: “You mentioned Marko Marin.”Drogba chuckled and said: “Yeah!”Watch the clip here:

Poor old Marko.

Let’s check out some of the reaction:

Jose Mourinho: Why Chelsea sold Kevin De Bruyne

Despite being the Chelsea manager responsible for selling De Bruyne, Mourinho insists he had no option.

Speaking to talkSPORT in 2021, the Portuguese coach said: "He impressed me so much I made the decision I don't want this kid to go on loan, I want him to stay, and in our first match of the Premier League season he started against Hull City.

"In the second match we got to Old Trafford and after this he come to me and said, 'I want to play every match, I want to play every minute'. He put a lot of pressure on that.

"He wanted to leave, he wanted to go to Germany where he was previously on loan and so happy, and his decision was to go. He put big pressure on that and it worked very well for him. The story is there and the quality of the player is absolute, he is top five in the world."

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 18: (L-R) Frank Lampard, Fernando Torres, Gary Cahill and Kevin De Bruyne of Chelsea stand in the wall during the Barclays Premier League match between Chelsea and Hull City at Stamford Bridge on August 18, 2013 in London, England. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

Mourinho added: "He knew very well what he wanted and he was not ready to have that season at Chelsea where a lot of good players were in the same team, he didn't have the patience.

"He was not ready for that, he was coming from a season in Germany where he was playing every minute of every match.

"Sometimes us coaches make mistakes, but that was not the case. I saw he had the potential to do it, but he just knew perfectly well what he wanted."

STOKE ON TRENT, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 07: Chelsea substitutes Kevin De Bruyne and Samuel Eto'o walk out onto the pitch clutching hotwater bottles during the Barclays Premier League match between Stoke City and Chelsea at Britannia Stadium on December 7, 2013 in Stoke on Trent, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

Abramovich to sell Chelsea (Football Terrace)

You should be able to name at least 15 of these ballers [Quiz]