20 of the best foreign players to have played in the Chinese Super League

1 – Didier Drogba

The Chelsea legend is still going strong in the MLS

The former Chelsea legend began his senior career at French Ligue 2 club Le Mans. He then went on to play for two more French clubs, Guingamp and Olympique de Marseille before finally moving to the English Premier League in 2004 to play for Chelsea, where he made his name as one of the best strikers in world football.

In his first season at Stamford Bridge, Drogba helped Chelsea win the league cup and their first Premier League title in 50 years. The following year Chelsea successfully defended the Premier League title, with Drogba scoring 12 times in the league. He played in the blue jersey until 2012, when he joined Chinese Super League side Shanghai Shenhua. Drogba was among the first big name players to go to China and helped put the Super League on the world football map alongside another former Chelsea striker, Nicolas Anelka. The Ivory Coast man scored 8 goals in 11 appearances for Shanghai Shenhua before playing for Galatasaray and then making a return to Chelsea. He currently plays in the MLS for Montreal Impact.