Didier Drogba back with Montreal Impact, but for how long?

While Didier Drogba confirmed he will return to the Montreal Impact, it remains to be seen whether he will stay with the club for the entire 2016 MLS season. 

Montreal Impact fans took a collective sigh of relief over the weekend, when they learned star striker, Didier Drogba, was set to meet his teammates for preseason training camp. The Ivorian took to social media to make the announcement, declaring he was currently en route to Qatar where the team had set up shop.

There had been a ton of speculation that the 37-year-old could return to Stamford Bridge with Chelsea as part of Guus Hiddink’s coaching staff, but that no longer seems to be the case.

“We did have a discussion with Chelsea,” Impact owner Joey Saputo said, via ESPN FC. “They would’ve liked to have seen him back with the organization. We spoke to Didier about the possibility that he wanted to think about his post-soccer career.”

Drogba had been dominant in his first season in Major League Soccer, leading the Impact past the first round of the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. He had 11 goals in 11 regular season matches, and found the back of the net once in the playoffs.

However, Impact supporters shouldn’t get too excited just yet. Saputo, was asked several times on Monday whether the striker would end up finishing the 2016 MLS campaign with the club, and the businessman refused to answer.

“I can’t answer that question,” Saputo stated. “The expectation is that he’s going to continue to be a pro. I don’t have a feeling on whether he’s not going to play, whether he’s coming back because he has to come back.”

Montreal finished third in the Eastern Conference last season, before ultimately being eliminated by the Columbus Crew. They kickoff the 2016 MLS season against Canadian rivals, the Vancouver Whitecaps, at BC Place on March 6th, before playing their first home match of the season against the New York Red Bulls on March 12th.