Tuesday 24 January 2017 11:48, UK
Chelsea legend Didier Drogba has pulled the plug on a move to South Melbourne.
The Australian club are currently working on joining the A-League, but a delay with the paperwork from Football Federation Australia means they cannot join until the 2018/19 season.
That has put off Drogba, who is currently on the hunt for a new club after leaving Major League Soccer side Montreal Impact in November 2016.
The 38-year-old was tempted by the prospect of a move to Australia, but he could not face waiting around for South Melbourne to learn their fate.
"We were pretty close," South Melbourne's advisory board chairman Bill Papastergiadis told SBS Australia. "Terms were agreed, but where we had difficulty was with keeping him interested during the period in which we could not play in the A-League, assuming we are successful in our bid.
"The bid process is unclear because FFA have not released the criteria for entry. Originally that was going to be in February but I don't know when that is going to happen for sure.
"But if we were to get in we couldn't play until the season after next. Drogba basically said: 'I like it, but what am I going to do in the interim for a year?' We had everything in place, other than that."
