Essien Discloses Pioneering Role He and Drogba Played to Open Doors for African Players in England

• Former Ghana midfielder Michael Essien has opened up on his Chelsea move
• Essien and Didier Drogba played a huge role during their time in England
• The ex-Chelsea star won several titles including the UEFA Champions League

Former Ghana midfielder Michael Essien has disclosed how his move to England gave clubs confidence to sign players from Africa.

The ex-Chelsea star joined Ivorian legend Didier Drogba to lead Chelsea to their most successful period in European football.

Later on, John Obi Mikel of Nigeria and the likes Geremi Njitap all played a part in the mid-2000s for the Blues.

Chelsea went on to win several titles including their first UEFA Champions League title in 2012.

According to Essien, the performance of players like himself and Drogba instilled confidence in clubs who were interested in signing African players.

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"It is always a big question if there is a big transfer over an African player. Didier [Drogba] was there, he showed it a year before I came [to Chelsea] and I followed it up," the Ghanaian told Sky Sports.

"I think he gave some trust to the rest of the clubs that they can spend the money and trust the process."

Essien spent nine years at Chelsea before leaving to join AC Milan in Italy, after a season on loan at Real Madrid, per Transfermarkt.

Essien opens up on almost joining Liverpool

Earlier, Sports Brief reported that Michael Essien could have had a different career path after confirming he was very close to joining English Premier League giants Liverpool while he was still a teenager.

The Ghana legend caught the world’s attention as a teenager while playing for French side Bastia, with the Reds as one of the suitors interested in signing him.

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According to the Daily Star, Essien was invited by Liverpool and even met with then-manager Gerard Houlier but decided against leaving Bastia because he wanted to stay for one more season.

Essien returns to Chelsea for Charity game

Sports Brief also reported that Former Ghana international, Michael Essien produced a man-of-the-match performance as Chelsea Legends thrashed Bayern Munich Legends in a charity game at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, September 9, 2023.

The 40-year-old, who currently works as an assistant manager of Danish club, FC Nordsjaelland, showed no signs of retirement as he scored and provided an assist in the 4-0 win.

The Chelsea Legends saw former players John Terry, Florent Malouda, John Obi Mikel and Gary Cahill line up against their colleagues from the German Bundesliga.