Premiership:  Jose Mourinho is refusing to allow Didier Drogba to leave Stamford Bridge. The Chelsea manager yesterday opened the door for a number of players to depart but did not include the Ivory Coast striker, who wants to move out of England.

"The situation is that he has two more years on his contract with Chelsea and he is one of the players we consider non-negotiable, so he has no chance to leave," Mourinho said.

"If he plays with happiness, great, because you get the best from him. If he doesn't play with happiness, he doesn't play. It is his problem. This is about individuals. The problem is that if you are happy and you play well, you play. If he's not happy, he doesn't train well and does not play."

Mourinho, who admitted he first heard of Drogba's discontent through the press, compared the player's predicament to that of the Milan striker Andriy Shevchenko. The Ukrainian wants to leave the San Siro, with Mourinho's club his likely destination.

"We would like to buy him but he's a Milan player. He has a long-term contract with Milan. Milan have the power in their hands, like we have the power with Drogba. My feeling is that they don't want to sell him. I would like to have him but lots of clubs would like to have Drogba and they can't have him."

Drogba claims his unrest stems from frequent accusations of diving directed his way but Mourinho laughed off the idea.

"I think it's a great idea of his agent," he quipped.

Eidur Gudjohnsen heads a lengthy list of players Mourinho is prepared to sell, although he stressed he will not force any individual out.

"Eidur is a great player. He's a player that we want to keep but he's a player that we are open to speak with, like we did in the last couple of weeks, and we are open to speak with clubs if they show a real interest in him."

The club will also listen to offers for Hernan Crespo, Carlton Cole, Glen Johnson, Robert Huth and Lenny Pidgeley.

"Crespo didn't change one single word about his desire to move and we are still waiting for clubs with offers. At this moment there is nobody and if nobody comes with an offer that Chelsea is happy to accept he will have to stay with us," said Mourinho.

It has also been confirmed that Maniche has left Chelsea. The Portuguese international midfielder signed on loan from Dinamo Moscow in January but has not been retained despite the close relationship he had forged with Jose Mourinho in recent years.

Guardian Service