Drogba has been clubless since he left MLS side Montreal Impact and has been linked with moves to Marseille and China.

This comes after the 38-year-old pulled out of a deal to sign for South Melbourne FC.

The former Chelsea striker was said to have agreed on a deal with the club but the chairman said Drogba pulled out as a result of concerns over the time the club will play in the A-League where they have not been accepted into yet.

"We were pretty close ... terms were agreed but where we had difficulty with keeping him interested during the period in which we could not play in the A-League, assuming we are successful in our bid," Bill Papastergiadis told ESPN.

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"The bid process is unclear because FFA have not released the criteria for entry ... originally that was going to be in February but I don't know when that is going to happen for sure.

"But if we were to get in we couldn't play until the season after next. Drogba basically said: 'I like it but what I am going to do in the interim for a year?”

"We had everything in place, other than that.

"It's a pity that we couldn't bring him here to join us, but he is too much in demand to sit idly by for a period of time.

"Drogba's still at an age where he can compete -- and he would have been great at A-League level. And we are still very much in market for a marquee of that kind of stature.

"We remain committed to bringing in somebody with a serous world reputation."