Didier Drogba refutes retirement report; yet to make decision over future

While the footballing world prepares for life without the pony-tailed Ivorian, the Montreal Impact concede that Didier Drogba has not told the club about his decision to hang up his goal-scoring boots.

It's hard to blame the Impact for feeling left out in the cold, as a report from L'Equipe Wednesday speculated that the ex-Chelsea striker has retired to join his former club in a coaching capacity under interim boss Guus Hiddink.

Despite claims that the Champions League winner has made his decision, a message on Drogba's official Twitter account would suggest otherwise.

According to L'Equipe's report, Drogba contacted Impact owner Joey Saputo to inform him about the decision to retire, though the MLS side begs to differ.

"(Drogba) never called Joey to tell him, 'I'm going to announce my retirement.' The first sentence of that (L'Equipe) article, which is the most important, is not true," Impact Communications director Patrick Vallee told ESPN FC.

Coupled with the Impact's claim that Drogba hasn't contacted them is a similar statement from the MLS, which echoed those sentiments in admitting that the 37-year-old forward hasn't reached out to the league office yet either.

"Maybe Drogba is going to retire. That's an option for him. But right now, if he's doing it, he never said it to our president. He never announced it to Joey first."

Should the details of the report come to fruition, Drogba's retirement could spell disaster for the Impact, who were sparked by his enrollment with the club and buoyed by a playoff run that witnessed a one-sided dismantling of Canadian rivals Toronto FC.