Midfielder Mikel Obi has named Michael Essien in all-time Chelsea 11 team with the likes of Joe Cole and Didier Drogba also featured.
Obi, who has been at Chelsea since 2006 played alongside Essien for eight years before the Ghanaian’s eventual departure from Stamford Bridge in 2014.
Essien was an integral member of the Chelsea team that was expensively put together after the takeover of Roman Abramovic in the early 2000’s.
He alongside the likes of Frank Lampard, Michael Ballack, Joe Cole, John Terry, Claude Makelele and Didier Drogba were considered were the main performers in Jose Mourinho’s first term in charge of the Blues.
Essien however increasingly fell out of favour at Stamford Bridge after battling a series of injuries to eventually make an exit in 2014 where he joined AC Milan.
The former Olymique Lyon man who joined Chelsea in 2005 in a 24.1m pound raid – which at the time was the highest amount paid for the signing of an African player – won two league championships, four FA Cups, a Champions League, League Cup and one Community Shield during his nine-year stint at Chelsea.
He gets his due recognition by being named in the all-time Chelsea XI by his former teammates Jon Obi Mikel.
Goalkeeper : Petr Cech
Defenders: Paulo Ferreria, John Terry, Ricardo Cavarlho, Ashley Cole.
Midfielders: Michael Essien, Frank Lampard,Willian
Attackers: Joe Cole, Eden Hazard, Didier Drogba.
