Shenhua wait on Drogba contract confirmation
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E-mail Shanghai Daily, June 20, 2012
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Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba gestures during a press conference in New Delhi, India, on Sunday. |
Shanghai Shenhua is waiting for Didier Drogba's management team to finish reviewing its lengthy contract, following which the Ivory Coast striker is expected to make an official announcement on his personal website.
A confirmation of a deal was expected on Monday when the mid-season transfer window of the Chinese Super League officially opened, but Shenhua suggested that it was being delayed following a request by Drogba's management team which was going through the lengthy contract, Sina.com reported yesterday.
According to the report, the 34-year-old will confirm the deal on his personal website sometime today, with Shenhua unlikely to make any official statement before that.
"Drogba and his team sent us a written request to delay the announcement and the date might be altered again," Sina.com quoted an unidentified clubmember as saying.
Zhu Jun, Shenhua's chief investor, confirmed the request and said he was not giving any dates or time of the agreement after rejigging the dates several times before signing Drogba's former Chelsea teammate Nicolas Anelka.
"We told them it is not a problem and they can decide on the timing of the announcement as long as the end result is a good one. We had some sort of countdown before (on Anelka's signing), but this time, we are taking it easy," Zhu said. "In fact, all of Drogba's wishes have been included and confirmed by Drogba's team and lawyers.
"(But) The whole process is much more complicated than we thought."
Meanwhile, Zhu denied a report in Shanghai's Xinmin Evening News that Drogba, who left Chelsea after helping the English Premier League club to its first UEFA Champions League triumph last month, would earn an annual salary of 12.0 million euros (US$15.1 million).
Another Shanghai newspaper, the Oriental Morning Post, said on Monday that Shenhua has offered Drogba 200,000 pounds (US$312,680) a week.
Besides the huge pay, Zhu posted a picture of a Mercedes car on his microblog that he claimed was for the Ivorian and his family. "It's for the Drogbas, a family needs a big car!" Zhu wrote on his blog.
Zhu also confirmed that Columbian midfielder Giovanni Moreno could also be on his way to the club.
"If there's no accident, it will be him," Zhu said. "But I have to say anything is possible before he signs."
The 26-year-old is expected to arrive in the city tomorrow.
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