23 May 2012

Drogba leaving Chelsea

11:37 am on 23 May 2012

Chelsea Football Club has announced that Didier Drogba - the hero of their European Cup victory at the weekend - is leaving when his contract expires at the end of next month.

The Ivorian striker has been with Chelsea for eight years.

Drogba, 34, scored a late equaliser against Bayern Munich in the Champions League final on Saturday and then scored the decisive penalty in a shoot-out after extra-time.

He has been at Clelsea since 2004, joining from French side Marseille, scoring 157 goals.

English media have linked him with Shanghai Shenhua in China.

His former Chelsea teammate Nicolas Anelka is player-coach there.