Didier Drogba’s astonishing revelation about how he almost turned down Chelsea

Didier Drogba might be a Chelsea legend but he was really against the idea of moving to London from Marseille.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

Didier Drogba stands tall amongst the greatest Chelsea players of all time with his power and skill that made him a dominating figure at Stamford Bridge.

Frank Lampard might be the highest scorer in the club’s history, while John Terry is the legendary captain who led the club to European glory and domestic titles.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

But Didier Drogba was the ultimate big-game player, having set the record of being the first player to score an FA Cup winning goal at the new Wembley against Manchester United in 2007.

His greatest moment will remain his Champions League winning penalty against Bayern Munich in 2012, after scoring the equaliser late in injury time, that gave the Blues their first European trophy.

But all that could have been different, as he revealed he did not even want to accept the move to Chelsea because he was so attached to Marseille.

Didier Drogba won tons of silverware at Chelsea - but could have been a Sheffield United player earlier in his career (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)Didier Drogba won tons of silverware at Chelsea - but could have been a Sheffield United player earlier in his career (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Didier Drogba won tons of silverware at Chelsea - but could have been a Sheffield United player earlier in his career (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

The Chelsea icon told the FA ahead England v Ivory Coast: “Honestly, I never wanted to join Chelsea when they came asking for me.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“I did not want to move, I was not ready and It was not about joining Chelsea because if any other European club had come the answer had been the way.

“I was happy at Marseille, I was emotional about the club and I wanted to finish what I had started.

“My mission was to stay at Marseille and score a lot of goals, win titles and set records for them.”

However Drogba revealed he quickly had to refocus and grow his mental strength to become a success at Chelsea.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He added: “ There were some moments at the start of my time at Chelsea when the media were not nice to me and when I didn’t enjoy English football.

“When I thought maybe I could go back to Marseille.

“That idea came into my mind, but I am a fighter and I had to carry on which I did and in the end it was the best.”