Jose Mourinho: Didier Drogba HAS to return to Chelsea one day

Jose Mourinho admits that he would love to bring Didier Drogba back to Chelsea in some capacity – but insists he does not know when or in what role.

The former Blues striker, whose Galatasaray contract expires in the summer, has been linked with a move back to the Premier League outfit as a coach at the end of the season.

Drogba is currently gearing up for an emotional return to west London with the Turkish side in Tuesday night’s Champions League last-16 second leg.

And Mourinho insisted that the Ivorian “has” to return to Chelsea at some point in the future.

When a person represents that much to a club, I think he has to come back one day

Jose Mourinho

“Tomorrow is a big game and I don’t think it’s the right moment to speak about it,” said Mourinho. “He’s a Galatasaray player. We know he is a free agent, that he finishes his contract at the end of the season. But it’s not the right moment to speak about it.

“That’s not me [to decide] that’s Chelsea’s [decision]. I think it has to happen one day. When? I don’t know. As a player? As a coach? As an ambassador? Next year? In five years? I don’t know. But when a person represents that much to a club, and when a club represents that much to a player, I think he has to come back one day.”

Mourinho, whose side head into Tuesday’s game looking to book their place in the quarter-finals after the 1-1 draw in Turkey last month, went on to describe the 36-year-old as a Stamford Bridge legend.

“He is one of the most important players in the history of this club,” he continued. “All Chelsea supporters will agree with that.

“We don’t say the most important one because it’s not fair for other people who were not in the same generation. Is he the same player at 36 than he was at 26? I think nobody can be. But he’s one of the best strikers in the world, that’s for sure.”

Chelsea v Galatasaray: Pre-match facts

• Galatasaray have not won in eight visits to English clubs, drawing three and losing five. Overall their record is W3 D8 L7.

• Chelsea have won six and drawn one of their seven home games in European knockout rounds since a 1-0 loss to Manchester United in the 2010-11 Champions League quarter-finals.

• Emmanuel Eboue represented Arsenal between 2005 and 2011, playing alongside Ashley Cole from 2004 to 2006.

• Samuel Eto’o, Eden Hazard and Andre Schürrle have all scored league hat-tricks in 2014.