Drogba linked With A return to Chelsea As Benítez Stands In for Guardiola
Chelsea football club has appointed Rafael Benítez as interim manager until the end of the season, leaving the way clear for the appointment of Pep Guardiola in the summer as the substantive manager.
The European Champions turned to out of job former Liverpool Coach, after failing to persuade Guardiola to cut short his one-year sabbatical and succeed Roberto Di Matteo who was fired after the club lost 3-0 to Juventus at Turin. Guardiola is enjoying a break from the game in New York.
Di Matteo, who won the Champions League and FA Cup in eight months in charge, is expected to continue receiving his salary until he takes a new job, stretching Chelsea’s compensation to the eight managers sacked in Roman Abramovich’s nine-year tenure to more than £70 million.
Benítez, who had to accept the job on less favourable terms than he had hoped in order to return to top-flight Premier League management is expected to meet with the players this morning having cut short his holidays in Abu Dhabi.
The Spaniard, who won the Spanish League twice and the UEFA Cup with Valencia, and took Liverpool to their fifth European Cup, had sought a longer deal but was told that an agreement until the end of the season was the best that he could get. Two years after he left his last job at Inter Milan he accepted.
Meanwhile Ivorian International and Shanghai Shenhua striker Didier Drogba is being linked with a sensational return to Chelsea after FIFA confirmed that the former African Footballer of the year had asked for its permission to join another club on loan outside the transfer window.
Drogba, who has sought FIFA’s permission for a loan away from China in order to allow him to get fit for the Africa Cup of Nations, which starts in January may soon join his former club .
Drogba, who quit Chelsea after scoring the winning penalty in the Champions League final, has been considering training with his former club during the Chinese Super League off-season, something Di Matteo said he would welcome prior to his own departure.
Even though existing FIFA rules prevent Drogba from representing another club until January first, the football highest body has said its looking into the player’s request.
“We can confirm that the player, Didier Drogba, has submitted a request for authorisation to be registered outside an open registration period for a club on a loan basis.
“Our services are currently looking into the matter.”, FIFA said.
