Essien Congratulates PSG

Former Chelsea midfielder, Michael Essien has congratulated French club,  Paris Saint Germain on their victory over Chelsea in the 1/16th round of the UEFA Champions League.

 

Chelsea hosted the French Champions on Wednesday night and needed a one goal difference to book qualification to the quarter finals but after Adrien Rabiot scored the opener and Zlatan Ibrahimovic tapped into the open net after Diego Costa’s equaliser, all looked bleak for the 2012 champions league winners.

 

Essien who spent a little over five years  at Stamford Bridge was hoping his old side will qualify to the quarter finals after losing the first leg by a slim 2-1 scoreline but the Ghanaian international has conceded defeat and congratulated PSG on their next round qualification.

 

The Panathinaikos midfielder wrote on his twitter page, “though I wanted Chelsea to win I must admit PSG put up some great performance,  I wish them well in the next stage. Well done #CLmy

Essien Congratulates PSG

Michael Essien Is 2015 Most Influential Ghanaian Footballer On Social Media

Former Black Stars skipper and current Panathinaikos midfielder, Michael Essien has ranked the most influential Ghanaian Footballer on Social Media leading the likes of Kwadwo Asamoah and Kevin-Prince Boateng.

The analysis done by the Ghana Social Media Rankings took into consideration their Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts with focus on how they engaged with their followers, mentions and post reach.

Michael Essien has also been an active user of his pages in supporting the various humanitarian campaign for Africa and other parts of the world.

Find below the chart on the ten most influential footballers in the year 2015:

Michael Essien Is 2015 Most Influential Ghanaian Footballer On Social Media

PHOTO: See tiny Michael Essien leading out his boyhood team

Michael Essien was a star amongst a host of young players while growing up in his native Ghana.

The Panathinaikos midfielder perhaps did not predict he will be as big as he is now having played for some of the top European clubs.

With Olympique Lyon, Chelsea, Real Madrid and AC Milan amongst the clubs on his CV, Essien has realized his boyhood dream of becoming a top class professional.

He also played for Ghana at two World Cup finals.

PHOTO: See tiny Michael Essien leading out his boyhood team

I signed Ji-Sung Park while scouting Michael Essien, former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson reveals

Former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has revealed he signed Ji-Sung Park after going for a game to primarily scout Ghana midfielder Michael Essien back in 2005.

Ferguson in his book ‘Leading’ written with renowned investor Michael Moritz and published in 2015 recalled his amazement at the speed of the South Korean while playing for PSV Eindhoven in a Champions League game against Olympique Lyon.

The Scottish manager had traveled to watch the quarter final tie between the two clubs with the aim of scouting Michael Essien who was then with Lyon.

Ferguson however ended up signing the little but skillful and swift midfielder instead.

“I had gone to get the measure of Lyon’s Michael Essien in the Champions League in 2005 during their quarter final ties with with PSV Eindhoven, and saw the ceaseless bundle of energy buzz about the field like a cocker spaniel,” he said in his book, Leading.

“It was Ji-Sung Park. The following week I sent my brother, Martin, who was a scout for United, to watch him, to see what his eyes told him.

“They told him the same thing and we signed him [Ji-Sung Park].”

Essien had earlier undergone trials with Manchester United but the English club decided against signing the Ghanaian.

The midfielder eventually ended up at Chelsea having excelled with Lyon to go on to become one of the finest midfielders of his kind in the world.

I signed Ji-Sung Park while scouting Michael Essien, former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson reveals

Australian club Sydney FC turn down option of signing Michael Essien

Sydney FC have decided against the option of signing Ghana midfielder Michael Essien, Sportscrusader.com can confirm.

Agents of the Ghana midfielder were looking to secure a loan move to the Australian club.

Initial talks commenced but the A-League side are unwilling to make a huge investment in the former Chelsea star over his recent injury issues.

Essien only returned to full scale action for Panathinaikos after recovering from a bout of injuries.

The 32-year-old had to wait for months before making his debut for the Greens a few weeks ago.

Panathinaikos were thought to be interested in the loan move of Essien to primarily ease up their wage bill.

The Ghana international who has played for Real Madrid and AC Milan was made one of the highest earners at the Greek club in the summer.

Essien’s yearly wage is reportedly in excess of the €2.5m.

But Panathinaikos appear to have had reconsidered the option of shipping off Essien to Greece over his recent impressive performance.

Most of the young players at Panathinaikos see Essien as a big brother figure and draw a lot of inspiration from his rich CV as a professional player.

Australian club Sydney FC turn down option of signing Michael Essien