Drogba for Barcelona with magic Messi heading in the opposite direction

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• More Chelsea news

After the Ivory Coast striker publicly declared a desire to move in the wake of Jose Mourinho's departure, he agreed privately with members of the Chelsea hierarchy to stop talking to the media about his future until the end of the season.

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Swap shop: Chelsea will only let Drogba join Barca if they can have Messi in return

But Drogba has broken his silence, expressing a desire to link up with Samuel Eto'o at Barcelona, which has left his employers fuming.

While sources at Stamford Bridge say they have no desire to lose their best player, they are prepared to open discussions with Barcelona or AC Milan if those clubs will give them a top player in return.

Chelsea would tell Barcelona they want Lionel Messi rather than a fee in excess of £30million for Drogba while they would ask Milan for Kaka.

That, understandably, is not something either club would be happy to agree to and Drogba will be made aware of the fact, as well as being reminded that he has three years left on his contract beyond the end of this season.

But no one, however talented, will be tolerated at Chelsea if they continue to cause problems. Mourinho probably considered himself untouchable but a breakdown in his relationship with club owner Roman Abramovich led to his sudden departure earlier this season.

Drogba, according to the same sources at Chelsea, promised the club he would keep his counsel on his future.

But in an interview with a French newspaper this week, he said: "If any striker in the world were offered the chance to play next to Samuel Eto'o, he'd tell you that would be inspirational. I love his style, he's unbelievably quick and has a killer instinct in front of goal."

Having broken his promise and flirted so outrageously with Barca, Drogba's days at Chelsea would now appear to be numbered.