Drogba returns!

DIDIER DROGBA has opened the door to a shock Premier League return after requesting permission to join another club outside the transfer window.

FIFA said it was considering a request from the Shanghai Shenhua striker on the same day as Drogba’s former side Chelsea sacked manager Roberto Di Matteo.

A FIFA statement read: “We can confirm that the player, Didier Drogba, has submitted a request for authorisation to be registered outside an open registration period for a club on a loan basis.

“Our services are currently looking into the matter.”

Didier Drogba attends a press conference. AFP PHOTO

Drogba, who quit Chelsea after scoring the winning penalty in the Champions League final, has been considering training with his former club during the Chinese Super League off-season — something Di Matteo said he would welcome prior to his own departure this morning.

Existing FIFA rules prevent Drogba from representing another club until January 1

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This Droggy is not for sale: Didier rules out Premier League return

GOING NOWHERE ... Didier Drogba is happy with life in China

DIDIER DROGBA has ruled out a return to the Premier League.

Chelsea’s Champions League-winning hero is frequently linked to English clubs, with a mooted two-month loan to Liverpool being just one of many rumours.

But Drogba, 34, insists he has no intention of cutting short his stay with Shanghai Shenhua.

The Ivory Coast international, who moved to the Chinese Super League in the summer, said: “I hope next season I can start again from the beginning with Shenhua.

“Because I joined relatively late, I didn’t prepare with the team early in the season, so our results were not very good.”

Drogba quit Chelsea for a reported £200,000-a-week payday in China and notched eight goals in 11 appearances for his new club.

The Chinese season begins in March and the striker is determined to help Shenhua improve on last term’s ninth-placed finish.

Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/4632236/Didier-Drogba-rules-out-Premier-League-return.html#ixzz2BYXTtcgW -->