Ruben Loftus-Cheek was born on 23 January 1996 in Lewisham, London, to a Guyanese-descended family, and joined Chelsea's academy at the age of eight. He made his senior debut in December 2014 and went on to win the 2016-17 Premier League and the 2018-19 Europa League with Chelsea, with loan spells at Crystal Palace (2017-18) and Fulham (2020-21) helping him gain regular minutes.
In June 2023 he joined AC Milan on a four-year deal, and he made an immediate impact in his first Serie A season with 10 goals across 40 appearances, matching his career-best output. Under various coaches at Milan he has been used as a right-sided midfielder in a 3-5-2, an attacking midfielder and even an emergency centre-back, and was part of the squad that won the 2024-25 Supercoppa Italiana.
For England he made his senior debut in November 2017, was part of the 2018 World Cup squad and has earned 11 caps, with his international career repeatedly disrupted by injuries.
A 1.91 m midfielder with size, balance and a powerful long-range shot, Loftus-Cheek has been compared by Glenn Hoddle to Michael Ballack and was once seen as a potential striker by Antonio Conte — that physical, multi-positional profile is exactly what makes him such a useful tactical chess piece for Milan.