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Mourinho - Drogba, Gallas staying

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Drogba has been told he cannot leave Chelsea despite his desire to go.

LONDON, England -- Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has insisted that want-away duo Didier Drogba and William Gallas will not be allowed to quit the English champions until their contracts are up.

Ivory Coast international Drogba said he wanted to move because he no longer enjoyed playing in England after being labelled a 'diver' this season.

Meanwhile French defender Gallas, who has a year left on his contract, is frustrated at not being able to play in his more usual center-back position.

However, Mourinho said the pair were staying put and then suggested that, despite being bankrolled by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, Chelsea might fail with their bid to sign Ukranian striker Andriy Shevchenko from Italian giants AC Milan.

"Didier has two more years on his contract and he is one of the players I consider not negotiable - he is not for sale," Mourinho said.

"If he does not play with happiness, he does not play -- it is the same with Gallas. I like Shevchenko but my feeling is Milan don't want to sell him and they will keep him.

"A lot of teams would like Drogba but they can't have him. That is the power of the clubs," he added.

But Mourinho added the Londoners are prepared to listen to offers for strikers Hernan Crespo, Eidur Gudjohnsen and Carlton Cole, as well as goalkeeper Lenny Pidgeley and England right-back Glen Johnson.

Carlton Cole has seen his path into the first team blocked by the likes of Drogba and Crespo, the latter two combining effectively during what was Chelsea's second successive Premiership title-winning campaign.

"Carlton is one of the players we are open for negotiations. I am not saying I do not want him here because that is not true," Mourinho explained.

"I'm not saying I want to push him away from Chelsea because it is not true. But I am saying that with a player like Drogba and another striker that we will buy for sure, his opportunities are not very good here.

"Because of the age of some of the players and they don't have so many opportunities at Chelsea, we can look for a different step for their careers.

"I don't want to push them, I am not saying I don't like them or trust them," the former Porto coach maintained. "I am not saying I am desperate to move them -- that is not the case.

"They want more for themselves but the situation is not easy for them at Chelsea. For example Glen Johnson is a great boy but he has Paulo Ferreira and Geremi with a lot of experience in front of him.

"Robert Huth is the same thing. He is in the World Cup but you look at him at Chelsea and he has Ricardo Carvalho and Gallas and John Terry ahead of him.

"You have Lenny Pidgeley's situation - he has played 100 minutes in the Premiership. How can a goalkeeper of 21 survive not playing football? So this is the kind of player we have to think about getting a solution that is good for him.

"The position with Eidur is that he is a great football player. We want to keep him but we are open to speak with clubs about him if they show a real interest in him."

Mourinho also said Argentina international Crespo was still searching for a new club. "I think he is with the Argentina team now," said Mourinho. "He didn't change one single word about his desire to move and we are still waiting for clubs with offers.

"If nobody comes with an offer that Chelsea are happy with and accept, he will have to stay with us."

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