Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has not contacted Didier Drogba or Montréal Impact about Drogba’s potential return to the club this winter, according to the MLS side.
Montréal denied any contact between Abramovich and Drogba after a report in Paris-based magazine Jeune Afrique claimed the two men spoke about Drogba’s potential return to the club in the wake of José Mourinho’s departure on Thursday.
The prospect of a return -- likely as a member of the backroom staff with an eye toward greater responsibility in the future -- inevitably sparked some intrigue in the wake of the upheaval in West London, but the Impact waved away any thoughts of the 37-year-old’s immediate departure after a brief spell in MLS.
“The rumour about Didier Drogba is unfounded,” the Impact Tweeted on Friday. "No contact has been made with the club or him.”
Drogba has one year remaining on an 18-month deal signed with the Impact and MLS during the summer. The former Côte d’Ivoire captain scored 11 goals in 11 regular-season appearances to propel the Impact to a playoff berth.
Those obligations might keep Drogba in Quebec for another year, but he has already contemplated a return to Chelsea once his career concludes.
Drogba outlined his desire to return to the club where he scored 164 goals over two stints with the club, secured four Premier League titles and won the UEFA Champions League in 2012 in an interview with BBC Africa last month.
"I want to give back to the club which has given so much to me. I have agreed that with the club directors," Drogba said last month. "Why not manager? Why not sporting director, trainer at the academy or maybe an advising role for strikers?"
