Michael Essien never played as much as he should have at Chelsea, thanks to a series of injuries which prevented him from competing all too often.
When he was on the pitch he was brilliant though, and his charming personality and superb showings made him a fan favourite over the years, even when injuries had robbed him of his chance to play enough games to become a legend.
It took years to prise him away from Lyon, where he was playing before, and the Ghana star almost never made it to Stamford Bridge. In quotes picked up by the Daily Mail, he explains that even before he made his move to the French mainland, Liverpool almost bought him:
“I had lot of offers [when I was playing at Bastia in Corsica]. I was close to signing for Liverpool when Gerard Houllier was their coach.”
Things would have been so different. For one thing the Reds would have been signing a much younger Essien, right at the start of his career. They would have had a chance to mould him into a perfect 3 with Steven Gerrard and Xabi Alonso.
He goes on to say and it was too early for him to move, and he’s probably right. Another typically shrewd move.
Luckily for Essien, he ended up first with Lyon, and then at Chelsea, where he would go on to win a host of Premier Leagues, FA Cups and even a Champions League title.