Didier Drogba

Didier Drogba was born in Abidjan and at five was put on a plane to France to live with his uncle Michel Goba, a professional footballer, because his parents thought he would have a better life there. He was homesick, went back, then returned to France for good when he was older, living with his parents in a small flat outside Paris after they lost their jobs. He played football but was never in an academy, and did not sign a professional contract until he was 21, at Le Mans in the second division.

He was slow to develop, often injured, and 24 before he scored regularly. A season at Guingamp and one at Marseille changed that, and in 2004 Chelsea paid a large fee for a player many English pundits thought was overpriced. He became one of the most feared strikers in the country, scoring in nine cup finals and winning four league titles. In 2012 he headed Chelsea's equaliser in the Champions League final against Bayern Munich and then scored the winning penalty.

In 2005, after Ivory Coast qualified for its first World Cup, he took a microphone in the dressing room and, on live television, knelt with his teammates and begged both sides of the civil war to stop fighting. A ceasefire followed within weeks. He later insisted a qualifier be played in Bouaké, the rebel stronghold.

His foundation funds health and education projects in his home country.