Didier Drogba: Ex Premier League Boss Painfully Recounts Turning Down Chance to Sign African Star for £100k

• Neil Warnock has admitted he had the chance to sign Didier Drogba before the Ivory Coast international joined Chelsea in 2004
• Former Sheffield United star Laurent D'Jaffo made Warnock aware of Drogba, who at the time was playing in the French second division
• But Warnock was unwilling to sign Drogba for only £100k as it posed a financial risk for a championship club
• Drogba went on to sign for Chelsea and became one of the greatest African players to grace the Premier League

Didier Drogba’s career would have possibly taken an interesting turn, had the retired striker joined Sheffield United back in the day.

As it turns out, Drogba, considered one of the greatest African football players in history, was once offered to Sheffield United for a mere £100k, but was snubbed by Neil Warnock, who was the club’s manager at the time.

Daily Mail reports that Warnock recounts how he received what can now be looked at as a once in a lifetime offer to sign a world class striker, but he turned it down.

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At the time, Sheffield United were in the Championship and Warnock claims one of his own players at the club, Laurent D'Jaffo, approached him to try to push for the manager to sign Drogba.

"I had a French lad playing for me, Laurent D’Jaffo, and he once rang me and said: 'Gaffer, I’ve seen player for you in the second division in France, very good, £100k,"

"I said: '£100k? It's a lot for a second division French player.'

"I then said: 'What’s his name?' and he said 'Drogba'.

Warnock ended up turning down the move for Drogba because of the financial risk involved for a club in the second division.

Drogba would go on to join Chelsea for £24million in 2004.

“No bigger loss than that one”

The Ivory Coast international went on to become a legend of the game, scoring 104 Premier League goals for Chelsea and famously getting the winning penalty for the Blues in the Champions League final in 2012.

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His career spanned 20 years and before his retirement aged 40 in 2018, Drogba played in six different countries, winning 18 major trophies.

Warnock goes on to describe the missed opportunity, adding:

“You all know what happened to him in the end. I don’t think I could have had a bigger loss than that one."

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