Former Chelsea star Didier Drogba returned to his old club on Tuesday amid mounting speculation the Ivorian could make a swift return to the Barclays Premier League.


Drogba's visit to Chelsea's Cobham training ground came after it emerged he and former Blues team-mate Nicolas Anelka could be sold by China's Shanghai Shenhua due to an escalating equity stake row among shareholders.


Chairman Zhu Jun, who holds a 28.5 per cent stake, would only pay his share of the club's daily costs if his demands for greater control were not met.

Zhu currently controls the club along with five state-owned enterprises after becoming a shareholder in 2007.

The agreement was that if he invested £15million over two years, his stake would increase to more than 70 per cent.

Local media say Zhu has ploughed more than £60m into the club in the past five-and-a-half years, while the state-owned companies had spent nothing. The transfer of shares stalled in 2009 and again last year.


'It is annoying and has had a bad effect on many of our tasks,' a club official said. 'The biggest problem is that the operation and financing work of the club cannot be carried out normally.


'The equity stakes issue has become the biggest bottleneck for the development of Shenhua.'


If unresolved, Zhu, who has been signing all the cheques, could decide to cough up just 28.5 per cent of the club's expenditure, potentially affecting player salaries.


Colombian Giovanni Moreno missed the match against Shandong Luneng at the weekend amid speculation Shenhua had fallen short on his transfer fee with Argentina's Racing Club



Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2194562/Didier-Drogba-returns-Chelsea.html#ixzz24sFF0Vtw

Former Barcelona defender
Gbenga Okunowo loses
everything as fire engulfs his
Ibadan home
The former Super Eagle, who spent
three years as a Blaugrana player
between 1998 and 2001, says he is
devastated after the blaze gutted his
house on Sunday morning
By Emeka Nwani
Jul 22, 2012 5:10:00 PM
Former Nigeria defender
Gbenga Okunowo has told
Goal.com that he is at a
loss how to start life again
after a fire burnt down his
house in Ibadan.
Okunowo, who played for
Barcelona and Benfica in a
long career, noted that
everything he has ever worked for was ravaged by
the blaze on Sunday.
"I was sleeping at around 02:00 Sunday morning
when I heard some noise in the house beside
mine," he said. "The fire started in that house and
I jumped down from the bed to help my
neighbours.
"But I did not envisage the fact that the fire would
extend to my duplex. But I watched as the fire got
to my building and nobody could do anything.
"Before I knew what was happening, the roof of my
house was blown and the fire was so fierce that
nobody could go near it.
"I could not remove anything from the building. It
was so sad. There is nothing left in my duplex.
Everything is gone. My whole house is gone. My
passport, European residency papers, medals,
trophies & belongings were lost in the fire.
"I watched as everything was burnt. I really don't
know how to start again. I was wearing my boxers
after waking up suddenly and I watched how
everything I have laboured for got burnt.
"I really don't know why it had to happen at this
time. How do I recover my trophies, medals,
passport and other valuables lost? It is a sad day
in my life."
The 33-year-old returned to the Nigeria Premier
League when he joined Sunshine Stars earlier this
season. Source GOAL.com... Front page please

And why would he return to Chelsea when he was free to go?