Drogba thought Terry was a Chelsea reserve

Didier Drogba has revealed he thought John Terry was a reserve player when he first joined Chelsea.

The Ivorian signed from Marseille in 2004 and went on to win three Premier League titles – before adding another in his second spell during the 2014-15 season – four FA Cups and the Champions League trophy.

However, he admitted that his knowledge of English football was so poor when he first arrived at Stamford Bridge that he did not recognise the Chelsea captain.

“I noticed a tall, strong guy who looked so young, and who walked and carried himself in such a way that I assumed he was from the reserves,” he wrote in his autobiography Commitment, serialised by the Daily Mail.

“‘That’s interesting,’ I thought. ‘They’ve obviously brought him over to get a bit of senior squad experience.’

“Towards the end of the session I asked another player who the young guy was. ‘It’s the captain!’ he replied, laughing. ‘John Terry.’

“That’s how little I knew about the team – I hadn’t even recognised their new young captain.”