DROGBA: I NEARLY WENT ON STRIKE

Didier Drogba has admitted he almost refused to play for Chelsea after the departure of Jose Mourinho.

In his autobiography, the Ivorian striker claims that he nearly walked out on the club before their crucial Champions League group game against Valencia in October, unhappy about the treatment of Mourinho by the club's hierarchy.

In a touching passage, Drogba recalls the very finest work of Mills & Boon, saying:

"When I held Mourinho in my arms I couldn't hold back my tears - it was too much."

However, Drogba was eventually persuaded to turn out for Chelsea by, among others, Marseille president Pape Diouf

"If I had left mid-season it would have been for a club aiming for the top prize in continental football - and that meant I would not have been able to line up for Chelsea in the Champions League.

"It was a terrible dilemma. But I was ready not to play - I was feeling stubborn."

Drogba goes on to claim that there were two camps in the Chelsea squad - those who were pro-Mourinho and those who were not, and that he couldn't "look certain team-mates in the eye".

After claiming earlier this week that he held talks with AC Milan, the latest extracts from Drogba's book will dismiss any doubt - if there still was any - that he will leave Stamford Bridge in the summer.