Michael Essien was capped for the Ghana national team more than 50 times.
65 Facts About Michael Essien
2.
Michael Essien started his career playing for Liberty Professionals in Ghana.
3.
At Chelsea, Michael Essien helped the club win the Premier League in 2006 and 2010, as well as three FA Cups and one League Cup.
4.
Michael Essien made his senior team debut in January 2002 and has represented his nation at three Africa Cup of Nations tournaments.
5.
Michael Essien has represented Ghana at the 2006 and 2014 FIFA World Cups.
6.
Michael Essien broke through when he played in the 1999 FIFA U-17 World Championship in New Zealand.
7.
European scouts began to take notice, and Michael Essien had a trial at Manchester United in April 2000.
8.
Michael Essien played in the club's under-17 team's defeat to Derby County.
9.
In July 2000, Michael Essien was signed by Division 1 club Bastia and made his debut for the club on 30 September 2000 in a league match against Metz, appearing as a substitute for captain Laurent Casanova.
10.
Michael Essien did not immediately command a consistent place in the team, being deployed in various positions in the back four.
11.
Michael Essien formed midfield partnerships with Nicolas Dieuze and Cyril Jeunechamp and scored vital goals in victories over Nantes, Lorient and Guingamp.
12.
Michael Essien scored a goal in the Coupe de la Ligue against Le Mans.
13.
Michael Essien made his club debut in the team's 2003 Trophee des champions match against Auxerre on 27 July 2003.
14.
In just the fifth minute of play, Michael Essien scored his first goal for the club, and four minutes later, Diarra scored a goal.
15.
Michael Essien featured regularly for the rest of the campaign, making 33 more league appearances and scoring two more goals, against Bordeaux and Rennes respectively.
16.
Michael Essien scored three goals and collected 11 yellow cards, tied for second-worst in the league.
17.
Michael Essien's honour started a record streak of UNFP Player of the Year awards for Lyon players, with the streak coming to an end in 2008 following Karim Benzema's victory.
18.
Michael Essien was nominated for the 2005 FIFA World Player of the Year Award.
19.
Michael Essien's acclaim drew attention from Chelsea which he eventually signed for.
20.
Michael Essien made his debut as a second-half substitute against Arsenal on 21 August 2005, wearing the number 5 on his shirt.
21.
Michael Essien soon cemented his place in Jose Mourinho's side, starting in 31 domestic league matches, as well as 11 appearances in other cup competitions.
22.
On 15 December 2005, Michael Essien was handed a two-match ban by UEFA for a controversial tackle on Dietmar Hamann, which resulted in his suspension from Chelsea's Champions League second round tie with eventual European champions Barcelona.
23.
Michael Essien apologised to Hamann for the challenge, stating that while he desires to be perceived as a player who "unsettles" opponents, he was not a malicious or an unsporting player; Hamann publicly accepted Michael Essien's apology.
24.
In January 2006, Michael Essien was himself stretchered off the field after a challenge from West Ham United captain Nigel Reo-Coker, and was sidelined for three weeks.
25.
Michael Essien ended his maiden season in England with two goals, both in the Premier League.
26.
Michael Essien was nominated for the 2006 FIFA World Player of the Year Award on 12 October 2006, where he placed 22nd.
27.
Michael Essien was voted as the third Best African Footballer of the Year in 2006, a feat he achieved in 2005.
28.
Michael Essien won the 2006 BBC African footballer of the year award.
29.
Michael Essien scored a stunning late equaliser at home against Arsenal on 10 December 2006, as the match was going to end Chelsea's long unbeaten run.
30.
On 10 October 2007, Michael Essien was nominated for the prestigious 2007 FIFA World Player of the Year Award for the third consecutive year and on 21 October 2007, he was nominated for the 2007 Ballon d'Or Award for the third consecutive year.
31.
Michael Essien was voted 15th Best Player in the World at the 2007 FIFA World Player of the Year Awards.
32.
Michael Essien was runner-up to that year's winner, Frederic Kanoute.
33.
On 22 July 2008, Michael Essien signed a new five-year deal with Chelsea, keeping him at the club until 2013.
34.
Michael Essien made his first league start from injury against Manchester City, scoring the only goal in the match.
35.
On 6 May 2009, Michael Essien scored a stunning left-footed volley in the second leg of the Champions League semifinal against Barcelona, a tie that Chelsea ultimately lost due to the away goal rule.
36.
Michael Essien scored his first brace for Chelsea against Wolverhampton Wanderers with a header and a low shot from outside the box and came close to completing his first hat-trick for the club with a flurry of second-half shots, one of which was tipped onto the bar by Wolves goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey.
37.
Michael Essien was injured on international duty during the 2010 African Nations Cup and missed the remainder of the English domestic season.
38.
Michael Essien returned to action on 17 July 2010 in a friendly against Crystal Palace and scored the only goal of the match to give Chelsea the win.
39.
Michael Essien scored a brace against West Ham United, and he scored against MSK Zilina in the UEFA Champions League.
40.
Michael Essien put in impressive performances against Marseille, Blackburn Rovers and Fulham, the latter a match in which he scored the only goal and received a red card.
41.
Michael Essien returned to score in the penalty shoot-out loss in the FA Cup against Everton but ultimately had a poor second half of the season.
42.
Michael Essien's recovery was said to take up to six months.
43.
Michael Essien subsequently remained an unused substitute in Chelsea's Champions League run, culminating in the Blues' victory over Bayern Munich in the final, making Chelsea the first London-based club to win the title.
44.
On 31 August 2012, Michael Essien signed a season-long loan deal with Real Madrid, reuniting him with his former manager at Chelsea, Jose Mourinho.
45.
Michael Essien signed for Italian club AC Milan on a one-and-a-half-year contract on 27 January 2014.
46.
On 2 June 2015, Michael Essien signed a two-year contract with Greek club Panathinaikos.
47.
Michael Essien spent the first three months of the season recovering from a leg injury.
48.
Michael Essien was due to make his debut on 21 November 2015 against Panathinaikos' archrivals Olympiacos, but the match was cancelled.
49.
Michael Essien rejected an offer from Australian A-League club Melbourne Victory in September 2016.
50.
On 13 March 2017, Michael Essien joined the Indonesian club side Persib Bandung, signing a one-year contract with an option to extend for an additional year.
51.
Michael Essien took the number 5 shirt for the 2017 Liga 1 season, the same number he wore during his nine years at Chelsea.
52.
On 16 March 2019, Michael Essien signed a one-and-a-half-year contract with Sabail FK of the Azerbaijan Premier League, which will see him coach their U19 team.
53.
In 2001, despite being one of the youngest players in the tournament, Michael Essien participated in the 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship with the Black Satellites in Argentina, where the nation finished runners-up to Argentina.
54.
Michael Essien made his competitive senior debut in the 2002 Africa Cup of Nations against Morocco on 21 January 2002.
55.
On 16 May 2006, Michael Essien was selected to be part of the team that represented Ghana at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany.
56.
Michael Essien played in midfield with team captain Stephen Appiah and Sulley Muntari.
57.
Michael Essien was voted as an All-Star Player during the tournament.
58.
Michael Essien still managed to take part in 10 of Ghana's 11 qualification matches, amassing more than 800 minutes of game time as Ghana finished at the top of their group to seal qualification to the 2010 World Cup.
59.
Since then, Michael Essien has announced that he will be standing down from the Ghana national side for the near future to focus on his career with Chelsea, having suffered two significant injuries while playing for Ghana in recent years.
60.
Michael Essien returned to Ghana's squad in August 2013 for the team's final 2014 World Cup qualifiers.
61.
Michael Essien started in both play-off matches against Egypt and was named in Ghana's squad for the tournament finals.
62.
In July 2018, Michael Essien has announced his retirement from international football, after over 12 years of active service with Ghana.
63.
Michael Essien said that he even retired before the 2014 FIFA World Cup but he was called back by former Ghana coach, James Kwesi Appiah to come and help the team.
64.
Michael Essien was a physically strong midfielder, who often played in a central midfield role.
65.
Michael Essien was often touted as a box-to-box midfielder for his ability to exert energy in supporting both offensive and defensive play, and for his powerful and tough tackling playing style, which has earned him the nickname "The Bison".