The Montreal Impact has acquired the MLS rights to Ivorian striker Didier Drogba from the Chicago Fire, and is poised to sign the player to an 18-month contract in excess of three million dollar contract.
An Ivorian in Canada
Chicago initially obtained Drogba's rights by filing a discovery claim on the player and was on the books to sign the 37-year-old after his contract during his second spell at Chelsea FC expired. The Fire thought their offer would be enough bring the Chelsea legend to the Windy City but Montreal soon came in and eventually presented a deal much better then that of their Midwestern rivals to bring Drogba to the French speaking city in the Great White North.
Bad Luck for the Windy City
This marks the second time in two seasons that the Chicago has missed out on a high-profile designated player. Last year, the club went through an attempt to sign U.S. international midfielder Jermaine Jones that ended with the Fire getting nothing in the end and the player ending up with the New England Revolution via a league-mandated blind draw. The attempt was made shortly after his participation in the 2014 FIFA World Cup, where he was instrumental in leading his side to the Round of 16.
The current MLS transfer window ends on August 6, and Chicago manager Frank Yallop has mentioned on several occasions that he has other targets in mind, so all is not lost for the Fire.
This will be Drogba's seventh club and possibly his last club before retirement. He enjoyed spells at clubs Le Mans, Guingamp and Marseille before joining the Blues in 2004 where he had the peak of his success in his career, winning four Premier League titles and one UEFA Champions League in his last season in 2012, before returning for a second stint for the 2014-15 season, where he won his fourth Premier League title. Prior to returning for the second time, he went to Shanghai Shenhua in China and Galatasaray in Turkey for two consecutive seasons.