Africa legend and former captain of Ivory Coast, Didier Drogba, has announced that he has hanged up his cleats for good, ending a 20-year playing career.
Drogba, 40, spent his final playing days with the USL’s Phoenix Rising, which he led to the final in the recently concluded season.
The forward is the Ivory Coast’s second most-capped player with 105 appearances and captained the side at four of the six major tournaments that he played at.
[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]“I wanna thank all the players, managers, teams and fans that I have met and made this journey one of a kind,”[/perfectpullquote]
he wrote in a statement on Twitter.
“If anyone tells you your dreams are too big, just say thank you and work harder and smarter to turn them into a reality.”
Drogba had been linked with the manager’s job at Turkish side Galatasaray, but his handlers have denied the reports.
The two-time African Footballer of the Year, began his professional career with French club Le Mans in the 1998-99 season, where he stayed for four seasons before joining another French outfit, Guingamp.
It was at Guingamp where he was spotted by Marseille, but his career grew bigger when he joined Chelsea where he scored 164 goals in 341 games. There, Drogba won four Premier League titles, four FA Cups and the 2011-12 UEFA Champions League.
At one time, Drogba made a move to China, where he spent six months with Shanghai Shenhua and a year and a half with Galatasaray before returning to Chelsea.
He later joined Montreal Impact in the MLS for two seasons, before finally signing a contract with the USL’s Phoenix Rising.
Drogba’s last game was Phoenix’s 1-0 loss to Louisville City in the USL Cup final on November 8.
