Drogba urges Chelsea to bring back Mourinho

LONDON - Agence France-Presse

Galatasaray's Didier Drogba from Ivory Coast controls the ball during a training session in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, April 2, 2013. AP photo

Former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba believes ex-manager Jose Mourinho has “unfinished business” at the club and could be set for a return to Stamford Bridge this year.

Mourinho brought Drogba to Chelsea in 2004 and the pair enjoyed immediate success, winning back-to-back Premier League titles, two League Cups and the 2006-07 FA Cup.

The Portuguese coach subsequently left, but Drogba, who will line up for Galatasaray against Mourinho’s Real Madrid in the Champions League tonight, believes he could be easily persuaded to return.

“I think for the club it is the best solution to bring Jose back,” said Drogba, according to quotes reported in several British newspapers.

“The fans want him back. He loves Chelsea. Because you want to rebuild a team and to give them the strength we had a few years ago, he could be the right person.

“He is a winner and is close to the players. He went to Inter (Milan) and is at Real Madrid but is still talking about Chelsea, so he loves this club.”

Chelsea is on the look-out for a new manager, with interim coach Rafael Benitez set to leave the club when his contract expires at the end of the current campaign.

Mourinho has been strongly linked with a return to the club and Drogba believes his failure to win the Champions League in his three-year stint in west London would motivate him to take up the role.

“I don’t think he has got over Chelsea and they haven’t got over him,” the Ivory Coast striker said.

“When he came he brought success; we won league titles back to back with some great football and the only thing he didn’t win was the Champions League. Maybe that is one of the reasons why he might want to come back. It is unfinished business.”

Drogba also revealed that he might be interested in returning to the club himself if Mourinho were to arrive as well.

The 35-year-old, who scored the winning penalty for Chelsea in last season’s Champions League final against Bayern Munich, said: “Let me finish at Galatasaray first and then we will talk about that.”

Drogba signed an 18-month contract with Galatasaray in January, after an unsuccessful spell with Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua.