Didier Drogba wanted fellow countryman at Stamford Bridge.
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Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure has revealed that his international team-mate Didier Drogba did his best to try and persuade him to join Chelsea in 2005, according to the Daily Express.
Toure was responding to questions about his relationship with the former Blues striker, as they are perceived as being on poor terms, though the 30-year-old denied that this is the case.
On the contrary, Toure says the pair have been close friends since Drogba spoke to him about joining Chelsea back in 2005 while he was still at Olympiacos, though he ended up moving to French side Monaco before enjoying a three-year spell at Barcelona.
Now a City player since 2010, Toure has established himself as one of the best midfielders in the world, and is up there with Drogba as one of the finest African footballers to grace the Premier League.
However, the pair could have been an even more formidable force had they lined up together, as Toure revealed was nearly the case.
“I have never had quarrels with Didier, contrary to what some claimed,” he said. “Didier has been my long-time friend.
“He did everything possible for me to join Chelsea in 2005 and we have been close since then. Would your enemy ever want you to work with him in the same place?”
Drogba is now playing for Turkish side Galatasaray having left Stamford Bridge in 2012, immediately after firing the side to victory in the Champions League final in his last game for the club.
Toure is also known to have been a trialist with Arsenal in his youth, though Arsene Wenger chose not to sign him after he failed to impress in some appearances in pre-season friendlies.