Drogs gone - OFFICIAL

Last updated : 22 May 2012 By Paul Lagan

Didier Drogba has left Chelsea.

As stated in Chelsea-Mad yesterday, Drogba will leave SW6 on June 30 and take a short holiday before heading to China to ply his trade for Shanghai Shenhua.

All that was left was for Chelsea to confirm Droiba's departure and they did that this afternoon.

Chelsea chief executive Ron Gourlay said: "Didier is undoubtedly a Chelsea legend and will always be part of the Chelsea family. He is certainly leaving on a high after Saturday night but he feels the time is right for a new challenge.

"Of course Didier has contributed so much to all of Chelsea's recent successes. He has been a consummate professional during his entire time here and as one of the natural leaders in our squad he has been an inspiration to a lot of our younger players.

"We have known for some time that this outcome was likely but Didier and the club only made a final decision on that in the last couple of days, because for obvious reasons neither Didier nor the club wanted to distract focus away from the Champions League Final.

"The talks were amicable all the way through and we wish him all the best for the future. He is welcome back to Stamford Bridge at any time - either as a player or as a guest of ours."