Chelsea icon Didier Drogba has named the three most-testing defenders he has played against in his career—picking Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic and Carles Puyol.
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The Cote d’Ivoire legend left Stamford Bridge for a second time this summer at the end of the club’s title-winning campaign.
The latest Premier League crown was Drogba’s fourth English title, while he also won three League Cups, four FA Cups, two Charity Shields and, of course, the Champions League in 2012.
However, it wasn’t all easy-going for the former Galatasaray man in England, and Drogba also came up against some seriously testing opponents.
Speaking to Rio Ferdinand on BT Sport [via Goal], the hitman named the trio of defenders that he feared playing against the most.
“I’ve always said you and Vidic,” Drogba replied, when asked by Ferdinand about his hardest opponents.
“I will say when I was scoring against Manchester United I was really, really happy because I didn’t score much [against them].
“So for me to score against you guys, it means that I had a good game!”
Drogba concluded by naming Barcelona legend Puyol to complete a menacing trio: “So, you two and Carles Puyol. Because he’s tough and a very good defender, but he’s a gentleman.”
Of the three, only Vidic is still in the game, and is currently on the books of Inter Milan.
Ferdinand called time on his career at the end of the 2014-15 season, having suffered relegation with Queens Park Rangers.
Puyol ended his 19-year association with Barca in May 2014, as a litany of injuries finally caught up with him. When he signed off at the Camp Nou, he has secured six Liga BBVA titles, two Copa del Reys, six Spanish Supercups, three Champions League titles, two Super Cups and two Club World Cups.