I Fulfilled My Dream By Playing In England – Michael Essien

Former AC Milan midfielder, Michael Essien has insisted playing in England was a dream come true.

The Ghanaian international joined the Premier League in 2005 for a record fee of £26m from French Ligue 1 side Lyon.

And according to the former Bastia midfield dynamo, he couldn’t reject the offer from the English giants.

“It was a dream for me to come to England,” he told EA Sports.

“As a kid and growing up in Ghana, all we could see was the Premiership at that time.

“When Chelsea came, I couldn’t say no.”

The 36-year-old also recalled how he scored a long-range goal that won the goal of the season against Arsenal.

“The goal of the season against Arsenal, I saw Lampard and I shouted for the ball and he layed it down for me.

“The first thing that came on my mind was to take a shoot.

“It was a crazy goal looking at how the ball went in to the post so it was a good feeling,” he added.

Essien made 256 appearances for the club scoring 25 goals.

The former Real Madrid and AC Milan midfielder won two Premier League titles, the UEFA Champions League, four FA Cup’s, one Football League Cup and one Community Shield.