Drogba regrets 'quit' admission
Chelsea striker Didier Drogba says he regrets his comments in a French magazine in which he made it clear he wished to leave the west London club. "I am a Chelsea player and will be 100% committed and supportive to my manager, my team-mates and the club," he said in a statement released by Chelsea. "I will not be discussing my future any further until I meet privately with the club at the end of the season."In an interview with France Football, he said he "wanted to leave Chelsea". "Something is broken with Chelsea," he was quoted as saying. "The damage is big in the dressing-room. "Nothing can stop me from leaving now," he added, listing Barcelona, Real Madrid, and both Milan clubs as possible destinations.
Drogba, 29, joined Chelsea from Marseille for £24m in July 2004 and has been the subject of regular speculation since then despite a prolific record with the Blues. His comments suggested the Ivory Coast star was keen to leave the club in the January transfer window.
But Chelsea manager Avram Grant said on Friday he was keen to speak to the player in private to quell any further dressing-room unrest. "I can't tell you something because I read it in the paper. I need to discuss it with him," Grant said. "I have read many things that were not true about problems in the dressing-room.
"Now you know there was no problem in the dressing-room until now and I hope it will continue like that. "This attitude has brought us good results in a very difficult time. "I am very happy with the atmosphere and the attitude of the players until now and I am sure that it will continue."
Drogba signed a four-year contract in November 2006 but told the BBC the following month he had considered leaving the previous summer in the wake of Chelsea's second successive league title.