Chelsea: I don’t recognise my club anymore – Drogba

Former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba says he does not “recognise the club” compared with when he played at Stamford Bridge.

His comment comes after Chelsea’s faint Champions League dreams were dashed on Wednesday.

Speaking with Canal+, Drogba said “It is not the same club any more. I don’t recognise my club. There is a new owner and a new vision.

“We try to compare with what was done under the Abramovich era, where there were many acquisitions of players, but the choices were very intelligent.

He continued, “Bringing in players like Petr Cech, Andriy Shevchenko, Hernan Crespo, Michael Essien, Didier Drogba, Florent Malouda, and I go on. It was to win titles and they are players who already have some experience. Here the strategy is different, they bet on young players.

“I think they certainly lack charismatic players and leaders. It needs players who take responsibility.”

Drogba won 12 major awards between 2004 and 2012 under previous owner Roman Abramovich, whose generous backing transformed the Blues into serial trophy winners following his takeover in 2003.

The 56-year-old was forced to sell the club last year after the UK government sanctioned him for alleged links to Russian President Vladimir Putin.