Michael Essien

“My children have to know where they come from and the way of life in Africa.”

“Poverty is everywhere, but in Africa, there is more.”

“When I was little, my dream was to come and play in the Premier League. So when Chelsea came in, I said yes straight away.”

“I don't think I've still got things to show Carlo Ancelotti. He has seen me play a lot, even before he was our manager, and he knows what I can do.”

“Teams struggle when they come to Stamford Bridge and, if we score one or two, everything seems to open up for us. We need to work hard to get into that position in the first place, but you can see what happens once we are ahead.”

“I've played at the highest level, so I'm just looking forward to enjoying the football, so anywhere there is interest, then yeah. I will consider it.”

“I want to give back to my community, little things I think they need. I went there to open a borehole and a public lavatory and give them a book about myself that we wrote with 'Right to Play.'”

“I'm not a difficult person. I just want to enjoy my football until I hang up my boots.”

“I like Singapore; it is very clean. People speak English and are warm.”

“As a young boy, all we used to watch was the Premier League at that time. I know the FA cup is quite important. It's as important as the Premier League in England. And I had a chance to win it over our biggest rival, and it was also in the new Wembley. It was a great moment.”

“When I'm about to play in a big match, I take things easy.”

“I always spend my summer in Ghana. I don't go anywhere else.”

“I had always said I will like to play for Milan at some stage in my career, so when the opportunity came up, I grabbed it with both hands.”

“Indonesia was good - and crazy, too! It was a great experience to play there. I enjoyed the football. It wasn't easy. It's very hot.”

“Milan is good, and I am settling in nicely, which is important. Everyone is friendly at the club and are looking after me well, so I can't complain.”

“Within weeks of the Ebola hoax dying down, the guys at Health Africa International approached my friends George Weah, Mahamadou Diarra, and I to be part of the initiative in using various forms of communication to promote a Ebola prevention education programme.”

“Together with Milan and our media team, we released a statement clearly stating it was a hoax and there was no truth in the rumour that I had Ebola. And that's when the whole thing started to die down. Still, it took about two days or so for people to actually stop talking about it.”