Drogba left Chelsea after playing 381 games and winning four Premier League titles across two stints with the Stamford Bridge club.

The 37-year-old has signed for Canadian side Montreal Impact and will officially join up with his new team once his work permit is finalised and he receives his worldwide Transfer Certificate.

Drogba will be a designated player, which means his wages will not be restricted by the team’s salary cap.

“From the first conversation I had with him, I felt he really wanted to play in Montreal”, Saputo said in a statement.

Montreal technical director Adam Braz added: “We are very excited and thrilled to add to our roster a player with an exceptional career”.

How big a signing is Didier Drogba for the Montreal Impact?

The former Chelsea star who has been a target of the Major League Soccer for years has agreed an 18-month contract. “A player of his magnitude can only help grow our club”.

Following that touching moment, Drogba revealed that he would be leaving the club, and that an MLS move seemed likely.

While his best days appear to be behind him, Drogba would give the Impact a proven scorer with the star power to match other recent signings in MLS, including Kaka in Orlando, David Villa and Frank Lampard with New York City and Steven Gerrard with the Los Angeles Galaxy.

Drogba also scored eight goals in 11 games with Chinese side Shanghai Shenhua as well as 20 goals for Turkish club Galatasaray, winners of the league in 2013 and the Turkish Cup in 2014. Drogba split his childhood between the Ivory Coast and France, and he began his career in the French second division with Le Mans in 1998.

At global level, Drogba – a two-time African footballer of the year – played 104 times for Ivory Coast, featured in three World Cups and retired last year after scoring a record 65 goals.