The former Ivory Coast international will join the second division side as a player and part-owner in hopes of getting to club to MLS
The former Ivory Coast international has signed with the Phoenix Rising of the United Soccer League, one of the two second division leagues in the United States. Drogba and the club announced the move Wednesday.
In addition to having a presence on the field, Drogba said he will be joining the ownership group in hopes of getting the club selected as a future MLS expansion side.
“Happy to announce I have signed with @PHXRisingFC and will be part of the ownership group hoping to take Phoenix to the MLS,” Drogba said on his official twitter account.
“Didier Drogba will help us express our appreciation for the tremendous partnership we have received from the league by serving as an ambassador for soccer on the pitch and within USL cities we will be visiting across North America,” Phoenix Rising FC Governor Berke Bakay said in a press release.
The former Chelsea star had been looking for a club following a season-and-half spell with the Montreal Impact of MLS which featured two playoff appearances. Drogba was a solid player for the Impact, scoring 22 goals in 39 regular season and playoff appearances for the MLS side, though he saw his role reduced to a substitute in his final months in Canada.
Drogba had been linked with Brazilian club Corinthians, but an agreement never materialized.
The 39-year-old striker will have a familiar face beside him in Phoenix as former Chelsea teammate Shaun Wright-Phillips also joined the USL side prior to the season after a stint with the New York Red Bulls.
