Sport
Didier Drogba signs 2 year contract with Shanghai Shenhua
The announcement comes days after a reported visit to Drogba’s native Ivory Coast by Shanghai’s owner, Zhu Jun, an online gambling magnate whose fortune has already facilitated the hiring of former Argentina coach Sergio Batista and another former Chelsea player, Nicolas Anelka.
On his Twitter feed, Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand said he looked forward to playing against Drogba when they travel to Shanghai on July 25.
Drogba’s move to Shanghai had been speculated for months. He was also approached by Al Wasl of the United Arab Emirates, coached by Diego Maradona, but its bid was believed to be less than Shanghai’s.
Drogba capped his Chelsea career by scoring the tying goal and then the penalty shootout winner in Chelsea’s win over Bayern Munich in last month’s European Champions League final.
Prior to his nine years at Chelsea, he had spells at French clubs LeMans, Guingamp and Marseille.
Chinese soccer has long been dogged by mismanagement and corruption, with the level of performance trailing well behind that of neighbors South Korea and Japan. But rapidly escalating salaries are beginning to attract big-name players while authorities have ramped up measures to stamp out match fixing.
Shangahi sits in 12th place in the 16-team Chinese Super League, 15 points behind leader Guangzhou Evergrande, which itself broke the Chinese transfer spending record to sign Argentine playmaker Dario Conca for $10 million from Fluminense, reportedly making him the third-highest paid player in the world.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press
