Michael Essien has revealed reasons behind his decision on being a coach after retiring from football.
The former Ghana midfielder who retired from professional football in 2020, has been working as an Individual Player Coach at Nordsjaelland.
For Essien the decision to venture into coaching was down to his plan of avoiding depression.
“When I was playing, if you asked me if I wanted to go into coaching, I would say no,” the former Chelsea midfielder told JoySports.
“But as time passed, I started thinking: I’ve been in football all my life; why not take up coaching and acquire my license to still stay in football and be around the players?
“I took this decision to go into coaching because I didn’t want to be one of these ex-players who finish their careers, go home, and start thinking about what they want to do, only to get into depression.
Essien continued: “For now, I am not thinking about being a head coach; it is too stressful. I like to be behind the scenes, away from these media duties and cameras in my face.
“But you never know; maybe at some point.”
Micheal Essien made over 500 club appearances and scored 58 goals, many of them during his time at Chelsea, becoming a household name in the Premier League.
Bastia, Lyon, Real Madrid, AC Milan, and Panathinaikos are among his top clubs before retirement.
His illustrious career includes winning the Champions League, three Premier League titles, four FA Cups, and two Ligue 1 titles.
