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Former Chelsea star Didier Drogba insists he hopes to stay with Shanghai Shenhua despite questions over his future, as reports said home crowds had jumped 30 per cent since he joined.
The Ivory Coast striker joined Shenhua in July, just weeks after scoring the winning penalty for Chelsea in the European Champions League final, for a reported US$300,000-plus a week, making him the highest-paid player in China.
Attendances have swelled to about 20,000 people for home games when he plays from 15,000 previously, the Oriental Morning Post quoted a club official as saying yesterday.
But Shenhua chief investor Zhu Jun has reportedly threatened to withhold salaries of foreign players - including former Chelsea and France striker Nicolas Anelka - unless he is granted majority control.
Drogba told the BBC he is still being paid and hopes to fulfil his 2½-year contract.
"I am really happy here, so I have no reason to leave," he said. "I want to stay here as long as I can - win some trophies with my team and make our fans happy."
But he also referred to unspecified difficulties.
"It's difficult at the moment but I know that there's hope and I believe," Drogba said.
He played down media reports of chaos at Shenhua, who sacked French head coach Jean Tigana shortly after the season started, briefly named Anelka as player-coach and then brought in former Argentina manager Sergio Batista.
"That's part of the game, you know. A manager comes, if he doesn't get results, they change. Football is universal. It's the same thing that happens everywhere in the world," he said.
But he did express a longing for the English Premiership.
"I miss the Premier League because it's the best league in the world but really I don't regret my choice," he said.
Drogba - dubbed "Devil Beast" by fans - started for Shenhua in a match last week and scored their final goal in a 3-0 win, but the club remain ninth in the 16-team Chinese Super League.


Didier Drogba wants to stay at Shenhua despite 'difficulties'

Didier Drogba

Sport

China