'Pique the toughest defender I ever faced': Chelsea legend Drogba

What's the story?

Didier Drogba, the prolific Chelsea striker, has conceded that his battles against Barcelona and Spain center-back Gerard Pique were very tough and named him as the best defender he had faced during his career.

Drogba, who scored 164 goals in 381 appearances over two spells with The Blues, played a huge role in securing four Premier League titles and the Champions League trophy in 2012 for the club, and also won four FA Cup trophies and three League Cups with the club.

The 40-year-old striker announced his retirement from professional football earlier this month.

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Drogba had also enjoyed goal-scoring spells in Turkey, China and USA apart from his two successful stints in England.

He won the Premier League Golden Boot award on two occasions, emerging as the top scorer in English top-flight during the 2006-07 and 2009-10 seasons.

With Chelsea, Drogba had the opportunity to go up against some of the best defenders in the world, but the two center-back partnerships that impressed him the most were that of United's Ferdinand and Vidic and Barcelona's Puyol and Pique, Metro reports.

The heart of the matter...

Talking to Sky Sports, he said that the most of the big defenders and top class defenders were tough to go against, and he singled out Pique as the toughest of the bunch.

He told Sky Sports: (Via: Metro)

"I think[toughest opponent was] Pique because our battles were really, really tough."

"But at the same time, like with all of them, you know like big guys, top players, top men, class."

"It’s very difficult for me to say one that I played against because most of the time I was playing against two defenders, so one of the best pair I played against was Vidic and Ferdinand,’