Didier Drogba opens up about decision to stay with Montreal Impact

Chelsea legend Didier Drogba became an instant hero at Montreal Impact last season, scoring almost a goal per game and leading the team into the MLS playoffs.  Unfortunately, his relationship with the club and the fans took a bit of a hit in the offseason (which coincides with the middle of the season in Europe and the January transfer window), as rumors of him breaking his MLS contract a year early to return to Chelsea (again) in some capacity made the rounds.

While Drogba chose to remain in MLS, he also missed a good portion of Montreal's training camp (he was off in Dubai or some such) and he will also miss 4 of their first 5 matches on account of not wanting to risk his knees (again) on artificial turf (will be training with Miami FC in Miami instead).  As our friends at Mount Royal Soccer put it, Drogba certainly had a few things to answers for when he faced the sharpened knives pens of the local media on Thursday.

And so he did.

"Believe me, if I wanted to be with Chelsea I would be with Chelsea."

"The season is long and it's not worth the risk of playing these games. It's not that I don't want to play, but it's because I can't play, because of my knee. Ever since I got here my focus has been on the team. I'm here to play and to win. I'm doing everything I can, along with the team, to make sure we do better than last year. It's as simple as that."

-Didier Drogba; source: ESPN

Hopefully Didier can continue making a positive impact at the Impact.  And then, once he truly and finally retires, he can come back home to Chelsea and we can all live happily ever after.