This article will tell you the story about how Jose Mourinho’s legendary signing won Chelsea their first UCL title
Jose Mourinho is surely one of the greatest footballing managers to have ever lived. He is called the ‘special one’ for a many reasons and we will cover one those reasons in this article.
Mourinho is the highest spending manager of all time. He has spent over $1 billion in his entire coaching career to sign players. One of the biggest signings of his career has to be the Chelsea legend Didier Drogba who won the club a number of titles.
There’s a huge story behind the signing of the Ivorian player and Mourinho was the one responsible for that.
How Did Jose Mourinho Sign Didier Drogba?
Former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho revealed an intriguing conversation he had with Roman Abramovich before signing Didier Drogba in an interview with beIN Sports.
The Ivory Coast forward scored over 160 goals for the club and went on to become one of Chelsea’s all-time great players after moving to London from Marseille in 2004 for £24 million.
Mourinho said: “Drogba is the kind of guy who is so loyal that he never forgot that I took him from Marseille to the Premier League, where he was not even expected because he didn’t start very young at that level.”
“He had already played for Guingamp, Marseille, Le Mans and on a few loans, so when I took him to Chelsea I remember clearly Abramovich was asking me, ‘Who do you want as a striker?'”
“With all the big names in Europe at that time, I said Drogba. (Abramovich said) ‘Who? Who is he? Where is he playing?’ I said ‘Mr Abramovich – pay. Pay, and don’t speak.’ And Didier was an iconic player for Chelsea, for the Premier League.”
How Much Has Drogba Contributed To Chelsea’s Trophy Cabinet?
Mourinho’s bet eventually paid off because he persisted in trying to sign a striker from a top league who had never played before.
Before leaving for China in 2012, Drogba not only contributed significantly to Chelsea’s historic Champions League victory but also won three Premier League championships and four FA Cups.
Two years later, Mourinho re-joined Chelsea and brought the powerhouse back to West London. Together, they celebrated another Premier League triumph that year.
“When he (Drogba) came back to Chelsea I told him ‘you are not number one, but I need you here to help me with the team,'” Jose said.
“He was phenomenal again. Players of that character and with that personality are important from day one in their career to the end of their career.”
