Jose Mourinho has backed Didier Drogba to return to Chelsea as a ‘player, coach or ambassador’ in the future.
The Ivorian striker will make his first appearance at Stamford Bridge tonight since his 2012 departure, as Galatasaray travel to west London for the second leg of their last 16 tie in the Champions League.
But Mourinho doesn’t expect it to be Drogba’s only return to his former hunting ground, and anticipates the next comeback to be of a more permanent nature.
‘He is a Galatasaray player, we know he is a free agent and we know he finishes his contract at the end of the season,’ Mourinho told Sky Sports News. ‘But we think it is not the right moment to speak about him.
‘I think it has to happen one day. When, I don’t know – as a player, as a coach, as an ambassador – next year, in four or five years, in 10 years – I don’t know.
‘But when a person represents so much to a club and when a club represents so much to a person – and that’s the case – I think he has to be back one day.
Drogba’s last kick of a ball in a Chelsea shirt won the club their first Champions League title, with the 36-year-old netting the winning penalty against Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena.
‘Undoubtedly he is one of the most important players in the history of this club – that is not a doubt. I think all Chelsea supporters we agree with that,’ Mourinho added.
‘We don’t say the most important one because that is not fair for other people that were in the same level and in the same generation, but for sure we all agree one of the most important players in the history of our club.
‘Is he the same player at 36 that he was at 26? I think nobody is, but he is one of the best strikers in the world that’s for sure.’