Chelsea Legend: Mourinho is the main reason for all my success

Didier Drogba believes Jose Mourinho turned him into a world class striker while the pair were at Chelsea.

The Ivorian, who is now at Galatasaray and will play the Blues in the next round of the Champions League, said that Mourinho turned him into one of the most feared strikers in Europe.

“When Chelsea were thinking of signing me, it was Mourinho who came to see me,” he told Sky Sports.

“He said ‘If you want to be a great forward like Thierry Henry or Ruud van Nistelrooy, you have to come and play with me in England, at Chelsea’.

“It’s true that I was a good player in the French league at the time but he made me one of the best in Europe.

“That’s why I, for Jose, was capable of going to the ends of the earth.”

Drogba says that Mourinho, who returned to Chelsea in the summer after a six-year absence, revolutionised the Blues by instilling a winning mentality in the squad.

“Before Jose arrived Chelsea had good players. John Terry and Frank Lampard were quality players,” added Drogba.

“When I arrived I already knew how to play football. Petr Cech also knew how to play football. But Jose transformed good players into winning players. We only thought about winning.

“He adores winning. The majority of coaches arrive at a club and say ‘I’ll try to win but it’ll be difficult’. He says ‘I’m here to win’ and he wins. That makes him special.

“Even after Mourinho left, that winning mentality stayed there. He left that legacy at Chelsea.”