Didier Drogba

Didier Yves Drogba Tébily plays in the centre forward position for Chelsea in the English Premier League and is the captain and all-time leading scorer of the Côte d`Ivoire national football team. He has scored more goals for Chelsea than any other foreign player and is currently Chelsea`s 8th highest goal scorer of all time.
After playing in youth teams, Drogba made his professional debut aged 18 for Ligue 2 club Le Mans. A late bloomer, he signed his first professional contract aged 21 but it was not until the 2002–03 season that he realised his potential, scoring 17 goals in 34 appearances in Ligue 1 for Guingamp. During the same season he made his first international appearance for Côte d`Ivoire in September and scored his first international goal the following February. He moved to Olympique de Marseille in 2003 for £3.3 million and his prolific ways continued, finishing as the third highest scorer in the league with 19 goals and making it to the 2004 UEFA Cup Final.
Drogba moved to Chelsea the following season for a record breaking fee of £24 million, making him the most expensive Côte d`Ivoire player in history. In addition, Drogba scored decisive goals in the 2005 FA Community Shield and League Cup Final and helped the club win their first ever Premier League title. Drogba came to prominence as one of the world`s foremost strikers in 2006 as he won the league title with Chelsea again and captained the national team for the first time. In the 2006 World Cup he scored Côte d`Ivoire`s first ever goal of the competition and he was chosen as the 2006 African Footballer of the Year. The next season he finished as top scorer in the 2006–07 Premier League with 20 goals and also scored the winning goals in the 2007 League Cup and FA Cup finals.
Away from the pitch, Drogba is known for his charity work and was appointed by the United Nations Development Programme as a Goodwill Ambassador in 2007. He has three children with his Malian wife, Alla.