The Chelsea legend has finally called it a day
Didier Drogba’s playing days are over, the 40-year-old confirming the news on Thursday.
The Ivorian has spent the last 18 months in the United States with Phoenix Rising, the club he co-owns. His career has also seen him play for clubs in Canada, Turkey, China and France.
But it’s undoubtedly the time he spent at Chelsea for which he will be best remembered.
Drogba played for the London club between 2004 and 2012, returning for a second spell there in the 2014-15 season. As well as helping them to four Premier League crowns and four FA Cups, the striker also played a key role in the club winning its only Champions League title in 2012.
Facing Bayern Munich in the final, Chelsea had fallen behind to a Thomas Müller opener with minutes remaining. Drogba, however, equalised with a header just before full-time, sending the game to extra-time. With no more goals in the additional half an hour, the game went to a penalty shoot-out, Drogba scoring the winning spot-kick.
As painful as the defeat had been for Bayern, it was made worse by the fact the final had been staged in the Allianz Arena – their home stadium.
Referencing that night, a tweet posted by the German champions’ official Twitter account wished Drogba well for the future.
Showing a picture of Drogba consoling his former Chelsea teammate Arjen Robben after the game, the tweet read: ‘You broke our hearts once but we still congratulate you on a superb career. All the best for the future.’
You broke our hearts once but we still want to congratulate you on a superb career. All the best for the future. 👏🏅@didierdrogba 🤝#FCBayern #MiaSanMia pic.twitter.com/xEhNAs5aeI
— FC Bayern Munich (@FCBayernEN) November 22, 2018
Drogba first joined Chelsea from Marseille in 2004, though has admitted how he came close to leaving the club after his first season at Srtamford Bridge.
