Didier Drogba has revealed he intends to leave UEFA Champions League winners Chelsea, according to reports in France.

I don't envisage sitting on the bench, admits Blues hero

Didier Drogba has revealed he intends to leave UEFA Champions League winners Chelsea, according to reports in France. The 34-year-old, who scored a late equaliser and the decisive penalty in the shoot-out win over Bayern Munich on Saturday, is reported to have told team-mates his decision during Sunday's trophy parade. Members of the triumphant Blues squad chanted for Drogba to stay in front of his adoring fans but the Ivory Coast international appears to have decided his eight-year spell at Stamford Bridge is up. "We will not be together next season," Drogba toldmagazine. "As I have decided to leave, I wanted to tell them (my team-mates) straight to their faces. "Except that I could not do it. They made me break down. "Even though it's been three years since I said I wanted to leave, I found it hard to admit that it was finished with me and the club. "But I don't envisage sitting on the bench watching others play at a time when the club is looking at putting together a new team. "So there we go, I am readying myself for a great leap into the unknown. It will be another adventure." Drogba's representatives have since moved to distance their player from the reported quotes. The forward has been linked repeatedly with a lucrative move to Chinese side Shanghai Shenhuan, where his former Chelsea team-mate Nicolas Anelka is now a player-coach.