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Striker Didier Drogba has re-signed for Chelsea on a one-year deal.
The Ivorian, 36, won 10 trophies at Chelsea from 2004 to 2012 and was a free agent after leaving Galatasaray.
Manager Jose Mourinho had earlier said the striker “belongs” at
Stamford Bridge – but said any deal would be made “in a non-emotional
way”.
Drogba told Chelsea’s official site: “It was an easy decision – I couldn’t turn down the opportunity to work with Jose again.”
Drogba, who joined Chelsea from Marseille for £24m in July 2004, won
three Premier League titles, four FA Cups, two League Cups and a
Champions League during his spell at Stamford Bridge.
He left the club in 2012 after scoring the winning penalty in the Champions League final against Bayern Munich.
After a brief spell at Chinese Super League side Shanghai Shenhua,
Drogba joined Galatasaray in January 2013 and scored five goals in 13
league games as the Turkish club won the title.
The following season, the striker netted 10 times in 32 games as
Galatasaray reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League – where
they lost to Chelsea – and finished as runners-up to Fenerbahce in the
Turkish league.
The Ivory Coast international was voted Chelsea’s greatest ever
player in a poll of fans in 2012 and has spoken of his close ties to the
Blues.
Mourinho previously said: “Because we know his heart is pushing him
to where he feels he belongs, we are thinking about the possibility [of a
deal]. We feel that Didier belongs to us.”
Mourinho, who managed Drogba from 2004 to 2007, said any decision
would be based on the player’s ability, rather than his history with the
club.
The Portuguese said: “If you bring him back it is not because he is
Didier or scored the most important goal in the history of Chelsea, or
because I read I need an assistant, no.
“We want to win matches and win titles and Didier is one of the best
strikers in Europe. He is still very adapted to the needs of the Premier
League and we are thinking about it in a non-emotional way.”
Mourinho also intimated that Drogba, who made one start and two
substitute appearances during the Ivory Coast’s three games at the 2014
World Cup, would be a squad player.
He joins Fernando Torres, new signing Diego Costa, as well as Romelu
Lukaku and Victor Moses, who both spent last season out on loan, as
striking options at Stamford Bridge.
[citinews]
