Didier Drogba hopes to help promote Chinese football around the world.
Chelsea and Ivory Coast idol Didier Drogba Wednesday said he had signed a two-and-a-half-year deal with Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua, where he will join former team-mate Nicolas Anelka.
The announcement ends months of speculation about the big-money move, in which the striker will become China s best paid player with wages of 200,000 pounds ($314,000) a week, according to local reports.
"Today I can inform you that I have signed with Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua FC for a two-and-a-half year deal (until the end of 2014)," Drogba said on his website. "I will fly out to join up with the squad in July."
Shanghai Shenhua posted a picture of Drogba wearing the team shirt on its website, although a spokesman declined to comment on the deal when contacted by AFP.
Drogba becomes the latest high-profile recruit to the ambitious Chinese Super League, whose champions Guangzhou Evergrande snared the services of World Cup-winning coach Marcello Lippi in May. Anelka joined Shenhua in January.
Drogba, who is leaving Chelsea after his match-winning role in the Champions League final, and as one of the English Premiership s most feared strikers, said he had received other offers but Shanghai "is the right move for me at this time".
"I am looking forward to a new challenge and to experiencing a new culture, and I am excited about the new developments in the Chinese Super League," he said.
"When Chelsea went to China last year, we had a great time and I met some amazing fans.
"I hope to help promote Chinese football around the world and further improve the links between China and Africa."
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