Didier Drogba Vows to Sue Daily Mail over Allegations of Missing Charity Money

Chelsea legend Didier Drogba has announced he is to begin legal proceedings against the Daily Mail after the newspaper alleged less than one per cent of £1.7 million raised by the Ivorian's charity went to good causes.

The Montreal Impact striker announced his intentions in a statement:

According to the Mail's Paul Bentley, Matt Lawton and Katherine Faulkner, only £14,115 of £1.7 million raised in the UK by Drogba's foundation to "build a hospital and help educate impoverished children in his West African homeland of Ivory Coast" was used as intended.

Of the remaining funds donated to the Didier Drogba Foundation, £439,321 reportedly went on "lavish fundraising parties" for celebrity backers—including Princess Beatrice, David Beckham, Pele, John Terry, Roger Federer and Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich—and the rest was "left languishing in accounts," per the Mail's report.

The Charity Commission is now investigating Drogba's charity over "serious regulatory concerns," per BBC Sport.

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The Mail's allegations extend further and include accusations that only one of five intended clinics has been built and that it is currently without any staff or medical equipment.

Bentley, Lawton and Faulkner also raised "questions [about] millions of pounds in sponsorship earnings from Pepsi, Nike and Samsung, which Drogba claims have gone to the charity."

Drogba, 38, slammed the newspaper in his statement for causing "an untold amount of damage" and "jeopardising the lives of many thousands of African children."

The Didier Drogba Foundation was established in 2007, while the towering forward was at the height of his powers at Stamford Bridge.

A four-time Premier League winner, Drogba is no longer based in the UK, having left Chelsea for a second time at the end of the 2014-15 season before joining Canadian side Montreal Impact in Major League Soccer.