Didier Drogba Rejects Latest Chelsea Offer, Will Leave in Search of Final Payday

by Marcus Kwesi O'Mard on Tue, Nov 29, 2011 at 11:37AM

Didier Drogba will bid Chelsea adieu next summer, ending an eight-year relationship with the London club. The Daily Mail reports the 33-year-old Ivorian striker rejected the Blues’ latest contract offer and will consider offers from clubs around the world.

“He’s had the offer of a one-year extension from Chelsea, but that does not suit us,” his agent Thierno Seydi said. “At his age, he has nothing left to prove as a player.

“Once you are well into your 30s, you have to go to a club where you can be certain you’ll be able to pay your bills,” he added. “He will go where he is offered the most money. It could be the United States, Qatar, Russia or somewhere in Asia. He’ll go wherever he feels good from a financial point of view.”

Drogba is out of contract at the end of the season and can sign a pre-contract with a club in another country after the new year. Rumors have linked him to both the Los Angeles Galaxy and megabucks Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala.

Seydi also revealed Italian giants AC Milan tried to bring Drogba to Italy on loan, but the veteran striker was not interested in leaving London.

“Milan came in for Didier, but I said no straight away. Their offer, for a loan with an option to buy, did not interest us.”

Drogba joined Chelsea from French club Olympique Marseille for £24 million ($37.5 million) in 2004. He played a key role in ending Chelsea’s 50 year wait for a league championship in his first season in English soccer. The icon of the African game has won three English Premier League titles, three FA Cups and two Carling Cup with the West London club.