Drogba open to return to Chelsea

Player says he would be keen to join forces with the Portuguese manager and help the club win the Champions League

Didier Drogba believes José Mourinho has "unfinished business" at Chelsea and says he would be open to a reunion with him if the Portuguese makes a return to Stamford Bridgethis summer.

Mourinho has been linked with a move back to Chelsea at the end of the season, when Rafael Benítez will depart as interim manager, and Drogba, now with the Turkish champions, Galatasaray, says he would be keen to join forces and "help the club" as a player or coach.

Roman Abramovich, Chelsea's owner, sacked Mourinho more than five years ago following a breakdown in their relationship but the manager has enjoyed successful spells with Internazionale and Real Madrid since and Drogba is certain a comeback by Mourinho would benefit Chelsea and transform them into the dominant force of old.

"I think for the club it is the best solution to bring José back," said Drogba. "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 and is at Real Madrid but [he] is still talking about Chelsea, so he loves this club.

"I don't think he has got over Chelsea and they haven't got over him. 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, who trained with Chelsea in December during the off-season in China, revealed that the possibility of returning on a permanent basis was discussed in January after his departure from Shanghai Shenua. A deal did not materialise but the 35-year-old admitted he would be keen to explore a comeback should Mourinho return.

"Let me finish at Galatasaray first and then we will talk about that," Drogba added. "It would be nice, not just coaching but to help the club. For this club I gave everything and of course they gave it back to me. I feel at home when I go to London. When I go to Chelsea's training ground I feel like I can walk around with my eyes closed and know where I am going."

Drogba will line up against Mourinho's side when Galatasaray play Real Madrid at the Bernabéu on Wednesday night in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, the first time the Turkish club have reached the last eight of the competition since 2001.

His arrival in Istanbul, along with the former Internazionale midfielder Wesley Sneijder, has added sparkle to Galatasaray's side and their manager, Fatih Terim, told the Guardian last week that Drogba has been a "big brother" to the younger players in the squad.

The Ivorian has faced Mourinho before, when Chelsea played Internazionale in the Champions League in 2010, but this time the striker admits it will mean more due to the connections with his former club.

He said: "It's going to be different because I play against José, who is ex-Chelsea, Michael [Essien], who is ex-Chelsea, and Ricardo Carvalho, who is ex-Chelsea.It's going to be nice to see the Chelsea boys in this quarter-final but I would love togo through." Reported by guardian.co.uk 1 hour ago. ~Chelsea Headlines on One News Page [United Kingdom]~
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