Didier Drogba retires from football (soccer)

The former Ivory Coast and Chelsea FC star has announced his retirement from soccer. He has an illustrious career which spanned a whole 20 years. Drogba had two iconic spells at Chelsea FC scoring 164 goals in 381 appearances for the Premier League giants.

With the club he won four Premier League titles as well as the UEFA Champions league in 2012. He also won three League Cups and four FA Cups while in West London. He is indeed a celebrated legend at Chelsea FC.

Over his 20-year career, Drogba played in six countries. The most recent being the United States where he played for a club he co-owned, Phoenix Rising in the United States Soccer League. There were speculations about his retirement after the team suffered defeat earlier this month to Louisville City in the US Soccer League Cup.

The superstar took to his Instagram page on November 22 to make the announcement. He posted pictures of him playing in his early days and captioned it, “When I think of the last 20 years of my professional career, looking at this picture can’t make me more proud of what I’ve achieved as a player but most importantly how this journey has shaped me as a man.”

“If anyone tells you your dreams are too big, just say thank you and work harder and smarter to turn them into reality. #alwaysbelieve. I wanna thank all the players, managers, teams and fans that I have met and made this journey one of a kind!!!” Drogba continued.

 

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1989 or where it all started!! When I think of the last 20 years of my professional career, looking at this picture can’t make me more proud of what I’ve achieved as a player but most importantly how this journey as shaped me as a man. If anyone tells you your dreams are too big, just say thank you and work harder and smarter to turn them into reality. #alwaysbelieve I wanna thank all the players, managers, teams and fans that I have met and made this journey one of a kind!!! Also a huuuuge thank you and love to my family ♥️, my Personal Team for supporting me all my career during all the ups and downs no matter what. Looking forward to the next Chapter and hoping God will Bless me as much as he did for my football career ?????? DD11 1989 Là où tout à commencé !! Quand je pense aux 20 dernières années de ma carrière professionnelle, regarder cette photo de ma première licence, ne peut que me rendre plus fier de ce que j’ai accompli en tant que joueur mais plus important encore, comment cette aventure à fait de moi l’homme que je suis aujourd’hui. Si quelqu’un vous dit un jour que vos rêves sont trop grands, acquiescez et travaillez plus dur plus intelligemment pour les rendre réalité!!!! J’aimerai remercier tous les joueurs, coachs, équipes, et supporters, que j’ai rencontré et ont fait de cette carrière un moment très spécial. Un grand merci du fond du cœur à toute ma famille, mon « équipe personnelle » de m’avoir soutenu durant toute ma carrière, dans les bons comme dans les mauvais moments. Hâte de démarrer le prochain chapitre en espérant que Dieu me bénisse une fois de plus comme il l’a fait pendant toute ma carrière ?????? DD11 #Dunkerque #Abbeville #Tourcoing #Vannes #LevalloisPerret #Lemans #Guingamp #Marseille #Chelsea #Shanghai #istanbul #Montreal #phoenix @usldunkerqueofficiel @levalloisfootball @lemansfc.officiel @eaguingamp @olympiquedemarseille @chelseafc @shanghaishenhua @galatasaray @impactmontreal @phxrisingfc

A post shared by didierdrogba (@didierdrogba) on Nov 21, 2018 at 2:22pm PST

In concluding he wrote, “Also a huuuuge thank you and love to my family, my personal team for supporting me all my career during the ups and downs no matter what. Looking forward to the next chapter and hoping God will bless me as much as he did for my football career.”

Before joining Marseille, Drogba had played for Le Mans and Guingamp. He moved to Chelsea in 2004 for a club-record fee of £24 million. After spending eight seasons at Chelsea he moved to Chinese side, Shanghai Shenhua and then to Galatasaray six months later. He returned to Chelsea briefly in 2014 before moving to the MLS where he played for Montreal Impact. It was from here he took up the position at Phoenix Rising where he retired.

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