Drogba's agent denies Chelsea exit reports

London: Didier Drogba's representatives have denied reports which suggested that the striker had announced that he will leave Chelsea when his contract ends next month.

The striker was quoted by France Football magazine as saying that he had already informed his team-mates of his decision to quit Stamford Bridge this summer after playing a leading role in their Champions League triumph against Bayern Munich on Saturday.

"We [Drogba and his Chelsea team-mates] will not be together next season," Drogba was quoted as saying in the magazine.

"As I have decided to leave, I wanted to tell them to their faces. They made me break down. I found it hard to admit that it was finished with me and the club."

"I don't envisage sitting on the bench watching others play at a time when the club is looking at putting together a new team. So there we go, I am readying myself for a great leap into the unknown. It will be another adventure."

However, Drogba's representatives have since claimed that the quotes 'are not genuine', while Chelsea's chief executive, Ron Gourlay, has insisted that talks over the Ivory Coast international's future at the club are still ongoing.

Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck said on Sunday that Chelsea chief executive Ron Gourlay is likely "to sit down with his [Drogba's] agent this week and we'll see where it goes." "Didier is a big-match player and he did it once again. He's a good guy, a great player. We have to do what's best for Chelsea football club and Didier has to do what's best for him."

"Conversations with Didier have been going on for months and still are," Gourlay told Chelsea TV. "He's made it clear he loves Chelsea and loves everything he's achieved at the club. Once we're ready to make an announcement, we'll do so."

Earlier this month, reports surfaced linking Drogba with a move to Shanghai Shenhua. The Ivorian would join former team-mate Nicolas Anelka in China, should he make the move to the Far East.

Drogba, 34, joined Chelsea from Olympique Marseille in 2004 and has won three Premier League titles with the west London club as well as four FA Cups.