The Montreal Impact added an established scoring presence when they traded for former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba on Monday. Drogba moves to North America following his second spell at Chelsea, where he won the league title last season. The 37-year-old Ivory Coast forward signed with the Chicago Fire, who then sent him to the Impact for general and targeted allocation money. Drogba is expected to join Impact later this week after receiving his international transfer certificate and work visa. "It's an honor to welcome Didier Drogba to the Impact," club president Joey Saputo said.

Drogba scored 163 goals and won four Premier League titles in two stints with Chelsea. He had the winning penalty kick as Chelsea won its first Champions League crown in 2012. The Impact had been seeking an elite forward since Italian veteran Marco Di Vaio, who joined the club as a designated player in its first MLS campaign in 2012, retired after last season. "We are very excited and thrilled to add to our roster a player with an exceptional career," Montreal technical director Adam Braz said.

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. He also played at Guingamp and Marseille before transferring to Chelsea in 2004.

With the Blues, Drogba won the Premier League's golden boot award in 2007 and 2010 and became Chelsea's fourth-highest scorer in team history.

He also is the Ivory Coast's career leading scorer with 65 goals in 104 international games, and he helped the country to World Cup appearances in 2006, 2010 and 2014. He announced his retirement from international competition following last year's World Cup in Brazil.