Of course, Drogba played a huge part in our 2012 Champions League win, scoring our equaliser against Bayern Munich in the final before converting the decisive penalty in the shoot-out, but then departed at the end of his first spell in west London, meaning he wasn’t part of the squad which travelled to that year's Club World Cup in Japan, losing to Corinthians in the final.

However, he was in the stands as a supporter at the Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium as we finally claimed the only trophy that had still been absent from the Stamford Bridge cabinet, by beating another Brazilian side Palmeiras 2-1 in extra time.

Didier was all smiles after seeing his former club finish the job in 2022 and explained it was important to him to be there, even as a fan, after missing our previous appearance in the competition.

‘It means a lot because this trophy, after 2012, we didn’t win it,’ he said. ‘I wasn’t there, we lost it, so that’s why I came to support the team and I hope it worked.

‘It’s good to see them lifting the trophy that we were missing and I told the boss that was the only one missing. So I’m really happy. I’m happy about it and congratulations to the players for the performance.’

Drogba is also pleased for what the victory says about Chelsea, underlining our status as one of the world’s great clubs, as we joined the elite group of sides who have been able to call themselves world champions, a much rarer occurrence in football than many other sports.

‘Winning the Champions League and now being world champions, it says a lot. I only see basketball teams say they are world champions. Today this club are world champions and it’s a big achievement.’

However, despite his joy at the end of the match, the Ivorian admitted he finds it tough to enjoy games as a supporter in the stands, going through the emotions without being able to influence events on the pitch since his retirement.

‘It’s tense,’ admitted Drogba. ‘It’s difficult, I’m moving, I’m heading the ball. So it’s difficult, I prefer to be on the pitch!’