Premier League - Drogba: I'm off in summer
Eurosport - Mon, 07 Jan 12:17:00 2008
Chelsea striker Didier Drogba has confirmed to Eurosport his desire to quit Stamford Bridge at the end of the season.
The Ivory coast marksman first revealed he wanted to end his association with the Blues following the departure of former boss Jose Mourinho back in October.
And Drogba has now admitted he stands by his original statement and will look to leave Chelsea in the summer.
"It comes from me, I said what I am thinking, that I wanted to leave," Drogba told Eurosport.
"The problem is that I've said that I've wanted to leave for two or three years now.
"Mourinho's departure didn't help; on the contrary it made me want to leave even more."
Drogba's name has been linked with some of the continents biggest clubs, including Spanish giants Real Madrid and European champions Milan - where he could link up with Mourinho once again - but the 30-year-old prefers to concentrate on more pressing matters for the time being.
"I haven't talked about that yet - that's for later on," he said.
"For the moment, my main objective is the African Nations Cup and then when I get back to Chelsea, it will be winning everything we still have an interest in.
"The Champions League is the most important. But if we won the [Premier League], I wouldn't complain."
Drogba made his first appearance since the beginning of Decemeber in the weekend's FA Cup third round win over QPR following knee surgery and will be fit enough to travel to Ghana and join his Ivory Coast team-mates for the three week-long African Cup of Nations tournament.
There had been talk of delaying his operation until after the tournament, but Drogba insisted the right decision had been taken, even if it meant missing crucial games for Chelsea.
He said: "It's been four weeks since the operation and my recovery is going well. I think the club and I made the right decision to intervene.
"I was surprised by different articles I saw in the press because the club told me it was best to have the operation when I did," he added. "They said if you really want to go to the African Nations Cup, you need to do it now. We agreed on that and I find it a shame that people write untruths just to sell news."
Eurosport - Mon, 07 Jan 12:17:00 2008
Chelsea striker Didier Drogba has confirmed to Eurosport his desire to quit Stamford Bridge at the end of the season.
The Ivory coast marksman first revealed he wanted to end his association with the Blues following the departure of former boss Jose Mourinho back in October.
And Drogba has now admitted he stands by his original statement and will look to leave Chelsea in the summer.
"It comes from me, I said what I am thinking, that I wanted to leave," Drogba told Eurosport.
"The problem is that I've said that I've wanted to leave for two or three years now.
"Mourinho's departure didn't help; on the contrary it made me want to leave even more."
Drogba's name has been linked with some of the continents biggest clubs, including Spanish giants Real Madrid and European champions Milan - where he could link up with Mourinho once again - but the 30-year-old prefers to concentrate on more pressing matters for the time being.
"I haven't talked about that yet - that's for later on," he said.
"For the moment, my main objective is the African Nations Cup and then when I get back to Chelsea, it will be winning everything we still have an interest in.
"The Champions League is the most important. But if we won the [Premier League], I wouldn't complain."
Drogba made his first appearance since the beginning of Decemeber in the weekend's FA Cup third round win over QPR following knee surgery and will be fit enough to travel to Ghana and join his Ivory Coast team-mates for the three week-long African Cup of Nations tournament.
There had been talk of delaying his operation until after the tournament, but Drogba insisted the right decision had been taken, even if it meant missing crucial games for Chelsea.
He said: "It's been four weeks since the operation and my recovery is going well. I think the club and I made the right decision to intervene.
"I was surprised by different articles I saw in the press because the club told me it was best to have the operation when I did," he added. "They said if you really want to go to the African Nations Cup, you need to do it now. We agreed on that and I find it a shame that people write untruths just to sell news."
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