Former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba,today arrived in China where he signed a two and half-year deal with Shanghai Shenhua,which will see him become one of the highest paid footballers with hundreds of fans on ground to welcome him.
“What I experienced at the airport this morning was unbelievable. Even when I was at Chelsea I never experienced anything like this,” said the 34-year-old Ivory Coast striker,while speaking to reporters at a press conference to unveil him as the new acquisition of the Chinese club.
Drogba who insisted that money was not the reason he moved to China,would reportedly earn around 200,000 pounds ($314,000) a week, in the deal he signed with Shenhua.
“China is a big sports country and it is a big challenge. For me it would have been easy to go to another team in Europe but I chose China because of the challenge,” Drogba said.
“The money is not the most important, everybody knows that I give a lot of money to my foundation… I didn’t come to China with the idea of making a lot of money” he added.
Drogba will join the legion of African players swelling up the Chinese league,with Nigeria’s striker Yakubu Aiyegbeni,Malian duo of Frederic Kanoute and Seydou Keita, now plying their trade in China.
Didier Drogba lands in China
