BALTIMORE -- MLS commissioner Don Garber said he remains hopeful that Didier Drogba will return to the Montreal Impact and delay his retirement, but it remains unclear what the Ivorian's future is.
It has been rumored for weeks that Drogba is poised to end his playing career and take an assistant coach role with former club Chelsea. An article in L'Equipe indicated that Drogba had indeed decided to retire, but the Impact forward then took to Twitter to refute that report.
"It's an ongoing situation and I just don't have an update for you right now," said Garber at Thursday's MLS SuperDraft. "Everyone is entitled to end their career when they're ready to, but he is under contract and we're hopeful that he's back in uniform and ready to play."
FIFA regulations state that if Drogba retires to take up a coaching role, then the Impact will be owed some form of compensation. Garber added that even if Drogba does retire, he was still "a great signing" for the league.
Given the numbers the Ivorian put up, it's a point that is hard to argue. Drogba set the MLS alight after arriving in August, scoring 12 goals in 14 league and playoff appearances and leading the Impact to their first playoff berth since 2013.
"Didier was incredibly exciting and did some great things for the Impact," said Garber. "But he's 38 years old, so if he decides to retire we'll manage through what that means.
"But he brought some excitement to the league and I'm sure fans in Montreal will never forget that, and if he does decide with Joey Saputo and the Impact that he is going to leave the league, I'm sure they'll get very focused on bringing in a very exciting player."