Former Chelsea soccer player Didier Drogba in his new club's jersey PIC: AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko

“It’s not about the money!” Chelsea hero on his big money move

Sunday, July 15, 2012
1:58 PM

Chelsea Champions League hero Didier Drogba has been explaining why he quit Stamford Bridge – and insisted a £270,000 weekly salary had nothing to do with it.

Drogba walked out of Chelsea this summer to join Shanghai Shenhua in China.

What lured him to the Far Eat was the project outlined to him by the owners.

The challenge taken on by the club clinched the deal and not the huge wages, claimed Drogba.

“I decided to come here because when the club and the president approached me, I looked at the project and it came with ambitious ideas. He wants to help football develop in China.

“I know China is a great sports country so for me it was also a big challenge because it could have been easy for me to stay in Europe and go to another team, another big team.

“Really, I didn’t come here with the idea of making a lot of money. I come here because it is a completely different challenge from what I have seen in Europe before.

“And that’s the idea, there are many challenges but this one is a big one.”