Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba announced his international retirement after scoring 61 goals in 103 appearances for his country.

“It is with much sadness that I have decided to retire from international football,” the 36-year-old said yesterday.

The Chelsea forward was a fixture in the national side for 12 years, playing in three World Cups and twice helping the team finish runners-up at the African Nations Cup.

Drogba, whose parents sent him to France as a child to improve his education, is also a French citizen and might have played for Les Blues, although he had already been capped by the Ivorians when he burst into the limelight with Olympique Marseille.

His uncle Michel Goba was also an Ivorian international, who played professionally in France.