Chelsea legend Didier Drogba joins USL as part owner and player for Phoenix Rising
Phoenix Rising got itself a big name for the pitch and the front office
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1 min read
Chelsea legend Didier Drogba is coming to America. The former Ivory Coast international has joined USL club Phoenix Rising as part owner and player. The 39-year-old striker joins as a player-executive as the club aims for Major League Soccer status in the coming years.
"Drogba will help develop the team as a player before advancing to an executive role with the Phoenix MLS expansion franchise," the club said on its official website.
Drogba announced the move on Twitter on Wednesday.
Happy to announce I have signed with @PHXRIsingFC and will be part of the ownership group hoping to take Phoenix to the MLS #Drogba2PHX pic.twitter.com/h1eefmqgJL
— Didier Drogba (@didierdrogba) April 12, 2017
And he is joining some pretty well-known names on Phoenix. The club has former Chelsea and Manchester City man Shaun Wright-Phillips as well as former Mexico international Omar Bravo. The team currently has three points for three games so far this season.
"I have taken my time in deciding what I wanted to do next and am really excited about the opportunity at Phoenix Rising FC," Drogba said. "After seeing first hand the potential for expansion of the sport in North America and getting to know the ownership group in Phoenix, I am convinced that I can help them develop their organization on and off the pitch.
Though he will be 40 next year, the Ivorian can still contribute a bit on the pitch. We saw him do that in MLS from 2015 to 2016 with the Montreal Impact, scoring 23 goals in 41 matches.
Having a big name certainly gets people talking about the club. In time we will see what kind of impact the two-time African Footballer of the Year award winner has.
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