Didier Drogba

Didier Drogba played for English club Chelsea as a striker, and is the all-time top scorer and former captain of the Ivory Coast national team. He is best known for his career at Chelsea, for whom he has scored more goals than any other foreign player and is currently the club’s fourth highest goal scorer of all time. In October 2012, he was voted by Chelsea supporters as the club’s greatest ever player. He has also been named African Footballer of the Year twice, winning the accolade in 2006 and 2009. After playing in youth teams, Drogba made his professional debut aged 18 for Ligue 2 club Le Mans, and signed his first professional contract aged 21. In the summer of 2004, Drogba moved to Chelsea for a club record £24 million fee, making him the most expensive Ivorian player in history. In his debut season he helped the club win their first league title in 50 years, and a year later he won another Premier League title. With a career record of scoring 10 goals in 10 finals winning 10 trophies at club level, Drogba has been referred to as the ‘ultimate big game player’. An Ivory Coast international between 2002 and 2014, Drogba captained the national team from 2006 until his retirement and is the nation’s all-time top goalscorer with 65 goals from 104 appearances. On 8 August 2014, he announced his retirement from international football.