At 22yrs old in 2005 he signed for Chelsea FC for the second most expensive transfer deal for the club of £26m for five years. In August 2012 he signed an on-loan deal with Real Madrid and went t on to score two goals. Earlier this year on January 2014 he transferred to AC Milan an Italian Serie A Club.The fearsome tackler shows great versatility in the pitch playing both in the defense and midfield. This made him earn the nickname “Bison”. He made his debut in the senior club, Black Stars in 2002 playing in the African Nations Cup. In 2017 Essien started playing for Persib Bandung.