Much of Drogba’s early life was spent on the move. At the age of five, he moved to France at the insistence of his uncle (and professional footballer) Michel Goba, who persuaded Drogba's parents that coming to Europe would 'give Didier a chance in life'. He moved back to the Ivory Coast at age eight, only to return again to France aged 11 when an economic crisis in the West African country rendered both of his parents unemployed.