Montreal Impact confirm talks with Didier Drogba, Chelsea over return
Didier Drogba might be headed back to Chelsea after all.
The Montreal Impact lent credence to the rumors on Wednesday, confirming that the club is in talks with Drogba and Chelsea over the player's future. Drogba is signed on with the Impact through the 2016 MLS season after starring in the latter half of 2015 with Montreal.
Chelsea, the defending Premier League champion, is mired in a relegation fight and ousted embattled manager Jose Mourinho, bringing in Guus Hiddink on a caretaker basis for the remainder of the season. Drogba, a club legend, is reportedly being offered a position on Hiddink's staff or as a club ambassador. He was present at Stamford Bridge for the club's 3-1 win over Sunderland, sitting next to Hiddink and owner Roman Abramovich in Chelsea's first match after Mourinho's dismissal.
“I worked with him five or six years ago and I was delighted to have such a professional in the squad," Hiddink said, according to The Telegraph. "He is a legend already in this club, but also outside this club in the world. So it's nice for guys with these big hearts to connect them somehow with the club. But he is playing for Montreal, under contract. All the big clubs, and the smaller ones, have these specific guys, figures, who can go into whatever they like–coach, ambassador, manager–but they must be given the opportunity to do so. They give the Chelsea brand a big image, worldwide.”
The Impact released a statement in a series of tweets, confirming the possibility that he could return to Chelsea.
Should Drogba be released from his contract early or retire, it would be a significant blow to the Impact, given his output in limited time in 2015. Drogba scored 11 goals in 11 regular season games and added another in the playoffs for Montreal.
