Club career Michael Essien

1 club career

1.1 bastia
1.2 lyon
1.3 chelsea
1.4 real madrid (loan)
1.5 milan
1.6 panathinaikos
1.7 persib bandung

club career
bastia

in july 2000, essien signed division 1 club bastia , made debut club on 30 september 2000 in league match against metz, appearing substitute captain laurent casanova. essien did not command consistent place in team, being deployed in various positions in four. finished 2000–01 campaign 13 league appearances , 1 goal, came in return leg against metz in 3–2 defeat. following season, essien given opportunity manager robert nouzaret play in central midfield , flourished in new role. essien formed midfield partnerships nicolas dieuze , cyril jeunechamp , scored vital goals in victories on nantes, lorient , guingamp. on 12 january 2002, essien scored equalising goal against marseille @ stade vélodrome match @ 2–2. scored goal in coupe de la ligue against le mans. future chelsea teammate didier drogba converted goal le mans in match.

in 2002–03 season, essien developed undisputed starter under new manager gérard gili. however, tenacious , physical style of play began take form collected staggering 12 yellow cards in league play. opened new campaign scoring on season debut against lens in 1–1 draw , converted 5 more league goals, included 1 in surprising 2–0 victory on defending champions lyon. following campaign, in bastia finished mid-table third consecutive season, essien drew interest paris saint-germain, lyon , marseille.

lyon

paris saint-germain made bastia best offer , accepted. however, essien rejected psg s contract offer, instead agreeing terms two-time defending champions lyon, paid bastia €7.8 million transfer. upon arrival, essien assigned number 4 shirt , played box-to-box midfielder, allowed him freedom protect , assist playmaker juninho while defensive midfielders edmílson , mahamadou diarra assisted defence , directed distribution. essien made club debut in team s 2003 trophée des champions match against auxerre on 27 july 2003. in fifth minute of play, essien scored first goal club, , 4 minutes later, diarra scored goal. lyon won match 2–1, giving essien first club honour player. in third match of campaign, essien scored first league goal club in 3–1 victory on monaco. featured regularly rest of campaign, making 33 more league appearances , scoring 2 more goals, against bordeaux , rennes respectively. on 23 may 2004, lyon sealed third consecutive league title defeating lille 3–0 @ stade gerland. essien appeared substitute in match. in uefa champions league, essien appeared in 8 of ten matches lyon contested , club eliminated eventual champions porto.

in final season @ lyon, essien appeared in 1 league match lyon crowned champions fourth straight season. match missed result of red card endured in previous league match. essien scored 3 goals , collected 11 yellow cards, tied second-worst in league. performances in league resulted in him being voted 2005 player of year france s national union of professional footballers (unfp). essien helped lyon reach quarter-finals of 2004-05 uefa champions league put in dynamic performances , scored 5 goals in tournament. lyon eliminated tournament in penalty shoot-out against psv. @ end of season, named ligue 1 player of year. honour started record streak of unfp player of year awards lyon players, streak coming end in 2008 following karim benzema s victory. nominated 2005 fifa world player of year award. placed 22nd in 2005. acclaim drew attention chelsea signed for.

chelsea

essien in 2006

on 14 august 2005, lyon , chelsea agreed £24.4 million fee essien, ending 1 of longest-running transfer sagas. @ time, fee made essien chelsea s expensive signing of all-time, surpassing £24 million chelsea paid didier drogba previous summer. transfer went through on 19 august. transfer came under scrutiny in stevens inquiry report, expressed concerns because of lack of co-operation agents pini zahavi , barry silkman.

essien made debut second-half substitute against arsenal on 21 august 2005, wearing number 5 on shirt. match ended in 1–0 victory chelsea. made assist in full debut against west bromwich albion, , replaced injured claude makélélé in defensive midfield role against sunderland in 2–0 win on 10 september 2005. cemented place in josé mourinho s side, starting in 31 domestic league matches, 11 appearances in other cup competitions.

on 15 december 2005, essien handed two-match ban uefa controversial tackle on dietmar hamann, resulted in suspension chelsea s champions league second round tie eventual european champions barcelona. essien apologised hamann challenge, stating while desires perceived player unsettles opponents, not malicious or unsporting player; hamann publicly accepted essien s apology. in january 2006, essien himself stretchered off field after challenge west ham united captain nigel reo-coker, , sidelined 3 weeks.

essien warming before game in 2008

essien scored first goal chelsea low cross shaun wright-phillips on 11 march 2006, in 2–1 victory on tottenham hotspur. second goal came on 17 april 2006, against everton powerful strike after assertive burst through defensive line. essien ended maiden season in england 2 goals, both in premier league.

essien nominated 2006 fifa world player of year award on 12 october 2006, placed 22nd. 1 week later, nominated 2006 ballon d or. voted third best african footballer of year in 2006, feat achieved in 2005. won 2006 bbc african footballer of year award.

the following season, essien scored several important goals, including first champions league goal chelsea in 2–0 victory on werder bremen on 12 september 2006. later in competition, essien scored late winner in quarter-final second leg against valencia @ mestalla stadium send chelsea through semi-finals 2–1 victory on night , 3–2 win on aggregate. first match in team after several weeks out knee injury. essien scored stunning late equaliser @ home against arsenal on 10 december 2006, match going end chelsea s long unbeaten run.

on 15 may 2007, chelsea fans voted essien chelsea player of year contributions in 2006–07 season, becoming first african receive honour. late dramatic equalising goal against arsenal voted chelsea goal of season 2006–07.

on 12 august 2007, essien scored winner first goal of 2007–08 premier league campaign, chelsea defeated birmingham city set english record unbeaten league matches @ home, eclipsing liverpool s previous top-flight record of 63 set between 1978 , 1981.

on 10 october 2007, essien nominated prestigious 2007 fifa world player of year award third consecutive year , on 21 october 2007, nominated 2007 ballon d or award third consecutive year. voted 15th best player in world @ 2007 fifa world player of year awards. on 12 december 2007, nominated 2007 african footballer of year, third consecutive time had been nominated. runner-up year s winner, frédéric kanouté.

on 22 july 2008, essien signed new five-year deal chelsea, keeping him @ club until 2013. extended contract on 12 march 2007.

essien in action chelsea in 2010

it feared essien miss 2008–09 premier league season after sustaining anterior cruciate ligament damage on 5 september while playing ghana. however, on 7 march 2009, came on substitute in second half of fa cup match against coventry city. in second match knee injury, essien scored before half-time give chelsea vital away goal against juventus in champions league first knockout round. chelsea went on draw match 2–2 , through quarter-finals 3–2 on aggregate. made first league start injury against manchester city, scoring goal in match.

on 6 may 2009, essien scored stunning left-footed volley in second leg of champions league semi-final against barcelona, tie chelsea lost due away goal rule. goal later voted chelsea s goal of season club s fans.

in 2009–10 premier league season, essien put in excellent performance against blackburn rovers on 24 october 2009 , scored first goal of season swerving 35-yard shot on 52 minutes in 5–0 victory @ stamford bridge. scored first brace chelsea against wolverhampton wanderers header , low shot outside box, , came close completing first hat-trick club flurry of second half shots, 1 of tipped onto bar wolves goalkeeper wayne hennessey. essien injured on international duty during 2010 african nations cup , missed remainder of english domestic season. on 4 june 2010, signed two-year extension existing contract have kept him @ club until 2015. essien returned action on 17 july 2010 in friendly against crystal palace, , scored goal of match give chelsea win.

after missing 2010 fifa world cup through injury, essien had bright start season chelsea. scored goal in pre-season friendly win against crystal palace , ever-present in chelsea s unbeaten month of august. scored brace against west ham united , scored against mŠk Žilina in uefa champions league. essien put in impressive performances against marseille, blackburn rovers , fulham, latter match in scored goal , received red card. however, essien again incur injury , missed 2 months of season, during chelsea won 1 out of 9 matches. returned score in penalty shoot-out loss in fa cup against everton had poor second half of season. after chelsea s final match, ghana football association announced essien had returned international squad.

in pre-season training 2011–12 premier league season, essien ruptured anterior cruciate ligament , meniscus, undergoing surgery on 11 july 2011. recovery said take 6 months. however, began training lightly in late november 2011 , made comeback on 9 january 2012, playing 75 minutes of reserves 3–2 defeat west bromwich albion. made 150th premier league appearance chelsea substitute in 1–0 win on sunderland. on 21 january 2012, essien featured late substitute in chelsea s 0–0 draw norwich city @ carrow road.

due missing of beginning half of 2011–12 premier league season, essien unable gain favour manager andré villas-boas. on 21 february 2012, during champions league match against napoli, villas-boas left frank lampard, essien , ashley cole on substitutes bench. chelsea lost 3–1 , club s technical director asked explanation of team selection on behalf of chelsea owner roman abramovich. on 4 march 2012, following 1–0 league defeat against west brom left chelsea 3 points adrift of arsenal in battle fourth place in premier league, villas-boas employment terminated chelsea, assistant manager roberto di matteo being appointed caretaker manager on interim basis until end of season. di matteo showed favour towards veteran chelsea players essien, lampard , john terry. subsequently, essien started in chelsea s second leg champions league fixture against napoli, chelsea winning 4–1 – , 5–4 on aggregate – in entertaining match allowing chelsea advance quarter-final, met benfica. essien subsequently remained unused substitute in chelsea s champions league run, culminating in blues victory on bayern munich in final, making chelsea first london-based club win title.

real madrid (loan)

on 31 august 2012, essien signed season-long loan deal real madrid, reuniting him former manager @ chelsea, josé mourinho. @ introductory press conference real madrid, mourinho affectionally referred essien son while essien referred mourinho daddy . on 3 november, essien scored first goal real madrid. during last match of season – , essien s last game madrid player – essien scored second goal madrid, dedicated mourinho.

milan

essien signed italian club milan on one-and-a-half-year contract on 27 january 2014.

panathinaikos

on 2 june 2015, essien signed two-year-contract greek club panathinaikos. deal made him club s highest-paid player, annual salary of €800,000. spent first 3 months of season recovering leg injury. due make debut on 21 november 2015 against panathinaikos archrivals olympiacos, match cancelled. played first match 1 week later. on 24 january 2016, scored first goal panathinaikos in 2–0 away league win on levadiakos. after season in greece, essien omitted panathinaikos squad 2016–17 season, expectation released contract. termination club confirmed 3 months later, after 2 parties reached mutual agreement on release.

persib bandung

essien rejected offer australian a-league club melbourne victory in september 2016.

on 13 march 2017, essien joined indonesian club side persib bandung, signing one-year contract option extend additional year. took number 5 shirt 2017 liga 1 season, same number wore during 9 years @ chelsea. speaking move indonesia, essien told club s official website, hope prelude other world players moving indonesia. on 22 april, scored first goal header in 2–2 draw on ps tni.