Both players were assigned midfield and defensive roles when they played together between 2006 and 2014 at Chelsea and John Obi Mikel admits that the former Black Stars player’s efforts were less recognised.
According to him Essien’s terrific work earned him a moniker known among the then Chelsea players as the “the train”.
“He [Essien] never gets the mention nor the credit he deserves. He is a guy that we call him the train at the training ground, he is a powerful machine. The way he trains as well, everyday he is working.
“And what a human being. Apart from playing football, what a gentle man he is. And like we say, he is a train, he is the bison and that’s what we call him”- Mikel told Dubai Eye, a United Arab Emirates based radio station.
The 35-year old, spent three more years at Chelsea when Essien left to join AC Milan in 2014. However, the two also faced each other when they represented their countries. Essien scored for the Black Stars in the quarter-final of the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) against Mikel Obi’s Nigeria.
Currently, both Mikel and Essien have retired with the latter acquiring his UEFA license A certificate a few days ago.