The website reads: "Impossible is not a word that exists for the Marseillais", "All together, we can do it" and "Didier we're telling you, you will return".

A Marseille football fan has set up an online piggy bank for the penniless club in the hope of saving up enough money to buy back Ivorian star player Didier Drogba. "Come back Didier" was only launched only a few days ago but has already attracted over 25,000 donors.

Currently a striker for Chelsea, Drogba only spent a year playing for the Olympique de Marseille team during the 2003 - 2004 season. But his absence is all too evident at the Vélodrome stadium, where supporters are hoping to put together €28m for his return.

However, even if they succeed in gathering together the enormous sum, don't expect to see Drogba appearing in OM's blue and white strip any time in the near future. After getting wind of the operation, club chairman Pape Diouf had to announce that the fans' plans would not be followed through. "I've got an idea of what Drogba earns, and I can assure you it's beyond the norm in France - and would be impossible for us to pay".