Didier Drogba retires from football

Côte d’Ivoire and Chelsea great striker Didier Drogba has formally announced his retirement from football after a 20-year career.

The 40-year-old scored 164 goals in 381 appearances for Chelsea, winning four Premier League titles, four FA Cups and the 2012 Champions League, while he is also Côte d’Ivoire’s all-time record goalscorer with 65.

Drogba spent the last 18 months of his career as a player and co-owner of US side Phoenix Rising.

“I wanna thank all the players, managers, teams and fans that I have met and made this journey one of a kind,” he wrote in a statement on Twitter.

Drogba is Côte d’Ivoire’s all-time record goalscorer with 65 / Photo: MTNfootball

 

“If anyone tells you your dreams are too big, just say thank you and work harder and smarter to turn them into a reality.”

Drogba played club football in six different countries in total, with the majority of his success coming in France and England.

He won the Premier League Golden Boot in 2006-07 and 2009-10, netting 104 times in the English top flight in total, and also scored a dramatic late equaliser when Chelsea beat Bayern Munich on penalties in the Champions League final six years ago.

Drogba’s last game was Phoenix’s 1-0 loss to Louisville City in the USL Cup final on November 8. Reports then said it was his last football match.

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