Former Chelsea hero, Michael Essien says it was a ‘great honour’ to play for the Black Stars of Ghana.
The 37-year-old announced his retirement from international football in 2018, after over 12 years of active service with the senior men national team.
Essien was one of three players, alongside Sulley Muntari and Kevin-Prince Boateng, accused of being frontrunners for players’ appearance fees during the 2014 Fifa World Cup.
“It was an honour to play for the Black Stars and that is the dream of every young footballer. Thankfully I realized mine.”
“It was a pleasure to represent my country. I’m lucky because I’m the only player who has represented the country at every stage, starting from the U-12, U-15, U-17, U-20 to the Olympics Games with the U-23 and straight to the Black Stars. I think I’ve done enough,” Essien said in an Instagram interview with Carol Tshabalala.
Asked on the massive love Ghanaians have for him, the midfielder simply answered, “I hope so.”
Essien had kind words for teammate Stephen Appiah who captained the team to their maiden FIFA World Cup tournament in 2006.
“We looked up to Appiah during the 2006 World Cup qualifiers. He was a great leader and person. He united and urged us to do everything in our power to qualify the country to the World Cup.”
Essien made his Ghana debut in 2002 and boasts of 58 caps as well as nine goals. He was a key member of the country’s golden generation that played their first-ever FIFA World Cup in 2006.
The former Blues number 5 currently plays with Azerbaijani side Sabail FK.
