Didier Drogba

Didier Yves Drogba Tébily (French pronunciation: [didje iv dʁɔɡba tebili]; born 11 March 1978) is an Ivorian former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is the all-time top scorer and former captain of the Ivory Coast national team. He is known for his career at Chelsea, where he is the club’s top goalscorer as a foreign player and is currently the club's fourth highest goalscorer of all time. In 2012, Drogba was named Chelsea's greatest ever player in a poll of 20,000 fans conducted by Chelsea Magazine. In 2020, he was named in the Chelsea team of the 2010–2020 decade. Widely regarded as one of the greatest African players of all time, he was known for his pace, aerial abilities, and powerful and accurate strikes. Drogba was named African Footballer of the Year twice (2006 and 2009).

After playing in youth teams, Drogba made his debut into football at the age of 21 for Ligue 2 club Le Mans. After finishing the 2002–03 season with 17 goals in 34 appearances for Ligue 1 side Guingamp, he moved to Olympique de Marseille, where he finished as the third highest goalscorer in the 2003–04 season with 19 goals and helped the club reach the 2004 UEFA Cup Final.

In July 2004, Drogba moved to Premier League club Chelsea for £24 million, making him the most expensive Ivorian player of all time. In his debut season, he helped Chelsea win their first league title in 50 years along with another Premier League title a year later. He was named in the 2007 FIFA World XI. In March 2012, he became the first African player to score 100 Premier League goals. Two months later, he scored in Chelsea's 2012 FA Cup Final win over Liverpool to become the first player to score in four FA Cup finals. He also played in the 2012 UEFA Champions League Final, where he scored an 88th-minute equaliser and the winning penalty in the penalty shootout against Bayern Munich. After spending six months with Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua, he moved to Turkish club Galatasaray, where he scored the winning goal in the final of the 2013 Turkish Super Cup. Drogba returned to Chelsea in July 2014. With a record of scoring 10 goals in 10 finals, Drogba is referred to as the "ultimate big game player". He joined Canadian club Montreal Impact in 2015 as a designated player and played 41 matches over two seasons, scoring 23 goals. Drogba became a player and owner of Phoenix Rising in the United Soccer League in 2017 and retired a year later at the age of 40. On 21 April 2022, he was inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame.

Drogba made his debut for Ivory Coast in 2002 and became the captain in 2006. He is the nation's all-time top goalscorer with 65 goals in 105 appearances. He led the Ivory Coast to the 2006 FIFA World Cup, their first appearance in the tournament, and scored their first goal. He captained Ivory Coast at the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups. He led Ivory Coast to two Africa Cup of Nations finals in 2006 and 2012, though they lost on penalties on both occasions. On 8 August 2014, he announced his retirement from international football.

Drogba played a vital role in solving the issues in his home country and in Africa. In 2007, he was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme. In December 2018, he became Vice President of the international organization Peace and Sport.