Drogba to announce next club 'soon'

Jun 17, 2012 3:25:00 PM

The Cote d'Ivoire striker is available on a free transfer after choosing not to extend his stay at Chelsea, but he appears to have already decided where he will ply his trade next

Former Chelsea forward Didier Drogba has revealed that the identity of his next club will be announced in due course, having described his prospective employers as 'interesting'.

The 34-year-old was reportedly closing in on a move to the Chinese Super League with Shanghai Shenhua, where he would link up with ex-Blues team-mate Nicolas Anelka. Drogba insists he will put an end to the speculation surrounding his future "soon".

"The next step is interesting," said Drogba during a promotional visit to India. "I will announce it soon. But as of now, you will just have to wait.

"Now I can't divulge where I am heading to. It will be known soon. But I can say that my eight years in Chelsea were the best years in my football career.

"My heart is blue [the colour of the Chelsea jersey]. I love the fans. I have a special relationship with them and with the team management and the players.

"We have been able to make Chelsea a football brand around the world."

Moving onto the issue of racism in football, which has been brought back into the spotlight following a string of incidents involving black footballers at Euro 2012, Drogba admits he does not see an end to the discrimination.

"Unfortunately, it [racism] never stops. There is racism in football by some people. Football is a great sport. It unifies a lot of people from different cultures," he continued.

"I like meeting people from different cultures. People who don't know the game properly are into this (racism). We can do without these stupid ideas. People who are doing this don't know how difficult life is."

Rounding off his visit, Drogba did name the best player he has played against, as he quipped: "[Lionel] Messi. He is the best player I have played against."

Drogba spent eight seasons with Chelsea after being purchased from Marseille by Jose Mourinho in 2004. He went on to score 100 goals in 226 appearances for the Blues.

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