The Sports Lowdown For All Your News and Opinions2. Didier Drogba – 2004-2012 & 2014-2015 – Chelsea appearances – 381 – Goals – 164
The Ivory Coast legend spent two spells at Chelsea, basically because he missed the club so much. His first spell started in 2004 with the club and he would make his presence felt pretty quickly for Jose Mourinho’s side as he scored 16 goals across all competitions in that first season as Chelsea won their first ever Premier League title.
Over the course of the next seven seasons he became one of the Blues most influential players of all time and at times you could see he had blue blood running through his veins. He wasn’t without his controversial moments but the passion he showed when pulling on the shirt was second to none and his will to win, as seen by his outburst in the Champions League against Barcelona showed how much he cared.
Drogba would leave Chelsea at the end of the 2011/12 season and move to China and the Turkey to play for Galatasaray but the lure of playing again under the returning Jose Mourinho in front of his adoring fans was too much and he returned to Stamford Bridge for the 2014/15 season before signing off from the Blues once and for all to move to Montreal Impact in the MLS.
An Ivory Coast international, he played a huge part into their rise in African football making 104 appearances for his country and scoring 65 goals but would miss out on victory in the 2015 African Nations Cup after retiring in 2014. At 37 years of age, time is on the slide for Drogba as a player but don’t be surprised to see him stay in the game in some capacity.
