Drogba: From hero to zero

The match perfectly encapsulated the two sides of the 30-year-old Ivory Coast striker, whose performances are marked by wonderful goals and theatrical diving that delight and annoy in almost equal measure.

With 78 minutes played of an increasingly tense Champions League final, Drogba came close to winning the game.

Springing up after yet another fall to the ground, he sent a brilliantly-executed arcing 25-yard shot out of reach of United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar.

But just as the Chelsea fans behind the goal rose as one to cheer what would have been a stunning goal, the ball smacked against the left-hand post and away to safety.

Just 20 minutes later the other side of Drogba's character cost him dearly when a tussle between the players ended with Slovakian referee Lubos Michel showing him the red card after he had slapped United defender Nemanja Vidic in the face.

The dismissal echoed that of French icon Zinedine Zidane in the World Cup final in 2006.

Zidane, who had scored France's opening goal, had a glorious chance to head the winner with the scores tied at 1-1 but was denied by a brilliant save from Italy's Gianluigi Buffon.

As that game moved into extra time, Zidane, playing the last match of his career before retiring, was red carded for his infamous headbutt on Marco Materazzi. His dismissal meant he could not take part in the shoot-out that France lost.

Drogba's dismissal was to prove costly for Chelsea, too, as he also was unable to take part in the shoot-out that United won 6-5 to add the Champions League crown to the Premier League title they lifted earlier this month.

Drogba's long walk off the Luzhniki Stadium pitch could well have been his last act in a Chelsea shirt because he has been strongly linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge in the close season.

Milan, Internazionale, Barcelona and Real Madrid are all possible destinations, but whether he stays or goes after this shattering defeat for Chelsea is uncertain.

Whatever he decides, the west London club's fans will no doubt wish he could have waited a few more minutes before leaving them on Wednesday.