London 2012 Olympics: Didier Drogba carries the flame through Swindon as torch relay heads to Cheltenham The road was turned into a sea of blue, red and white from the hundreds of Union flags, balloons and football shirts. Drogba was flanked by police and security as he handed over the flame to Stephen Ratcliffe, chairman of Newlands Park, a community multi-sport venue owned by Cheltenham Rugby Club. Video: Didier Drogba carries the torch As the two torches touched, spectators ran towards Drogba to get a photo of the footballer. He was then quickly whisked through the crowd into a silver car and driven away. The 34-year-old helped the Blues win the Champions League in Munich to bring the curtain down on a trophy-laden spell in west London but has confirmed he is leaving the club. He now looks certain to join Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua but said he would have stayed had they not collected European club football's biggest prize. "I would have stayed if we hadn't won the Champions League,"" he said. We've been chasing this trophy for eight years. We even saw the cup in Moscow [in 2008], walking by it, and we could not touch it.  To play for Chelsea was the best thing that could happen to me in my life, not only as a player but as a person. I made a lot of friends here which is very difficult normally in football, and they will be my friends for life because we made history here. Drogba now represents Chelsea's past but representing their future on the torch relay was midfielder Josh McEachran. He carried the flame on Wednesday morning in Calne.