Drogba agreed £18m City move, agent claims
Chelsea striker Drogba has been linked to a host of clubs, and his representative, the Senegalese Thierno Seydi, has revealed two teams made concrete offers to him.
The African agent has claimed that City and Inter presented offers to the Blues, and that the attacker was ready to move to Eastlands.
But the Blues finally refused to allow the Ivory Coast international to move on from Stamford Bridge.
Seydi said: “Since last year, there have been two firm offers: Inter and Manchester City, who offered a golden deal.
“I was okay, so was Didier, but Chelsea’s directors did say ‘no’. They refused a e20 million transfer (£18 million) plus a 30-year-old player.
“It proves how much they trust Didier. And the president (Roman Abramovich) was right to keep Didier because the team are winning again since he’s back in.
Seydi also claimed that Chelsea had to choose between Scolari, who was axed as manager last month after a run of poor performances and Drogba, and claimed that the Blues opted to part ways with the Brazilian coach because the striker is key to their recent success.
He added: “The fact that he was told to sit on the bench had nothing to do with sport, it was just a problem between two men that couldn’t work together.
“One had to go and Chelsea decided to part ways with Scolari. They literally said that Didier made history at the club, that he could still bring a lot to the team, so they decided to let the coach go and to keep Didier.”
For his part Drogba insists there is still room for improvement in his game after scoring the winner at Portsmouth on Tuesday night.
The Ivorian, who hit the winner in Chelsea’s Champions League win over Juventus, smashed home a late winner to keep the Blues slim title hopes alive.
Despite the goal, the highlight of another battling display, Drogba insists he is still not up to full speed after a disjointed season.
“Not yet, I think the most important thing for me is to be on the pitch and to try to improve this lack of fitness,’’ he explained.
“I enjoy being on the pitch, it has been a long time so I am really happy. Every time there is a new manager you want to show that you can play and be part of the team, that’s what we are doing at the moment.’’
Chelsea’s win maintained their 100% record under Guus Hiddink, and the Ivorian is impressed with the side’s commitment in difficult circumstances.
“It was really important because it was a third consecutive win, and was special because we played well. We did everything not to concede a goal and had some chances to score. It came very late but we did it so we are really happy.
“It was a really difficult game because Portsmouth did not give up, they could have scored in the second half and the conditions were not the best for football but it was the same for both teams,’’ he continued.
“It is good, the way we are winning is very difficult but we are improving.’’
Drogba also had praise for the temporary coach, who has shown faith with the forward and has been rewarded with some strong performances.
“He is a winner. All the managers I had are winners and want to win games so after that is little details and he has something special,’’ he said.
“He is confident and we try to follow him. (He) put me in the squad and said to me “Play’’.
“I will do what I have been doing for a few years now since I am professional, give my best for my team and that’s what people want me to do. It is easy to see I am happy.’’
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
