Posted July 21, 200816 yr The Sun reports Essien signing a £20m deal today http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport...icle1447477.ece The Blues moved quickly to stave off interest from Inter Milan manager Jose Mourinho. The Ghana midfielder, 25, had signed a five-year contract just 18 months ago. But Chelsea did not want to take any chances and offered him a year’s extension to 2013 in a deal worth £80,000 a week. A source close to Essien said: “Michael is delighted with the new deal. “It’s true that as soon as Jose Mourinho took over at Inter he made it clear he wanted Michael in Milan. But a new deal had almost already been agreed with Chelsea.†Essien has been one of Chelsea’s most consistent performers after arriving from Lyon three years ago in a £24.4m deal and is central to new boss Phil Scolari’s plans. ------------------------------------------------------ Brilliant news, one of the top 10 football players on the planet without a doubt in my mind.
July 21, 200816 yr Love his "I will do what is best for the team, play anywhere for the team" attitude. Much better than the "give me more money you disgusting f**kpigs or I leave" attidude of the Drogba's of this world!
July 21, 200816 yr Amazing news, and honestly, £80k a week is cheap for a player of Essien's quality.
July 21, 200816 yr My my my, first I read about Cech signing a new contract, and now Essien. This day cannot get any better (although admittedly I can think of a few improvements).
July 21, 200816 yr Has this been confirmed yet? I hope so... Bridge's contract was signed a week before it was announced, same with Cech.
July 21, 200816 yr Has this been confirmed yet? I hope so... Bridge's contract was signed a week before it was announced, same with Cech. As far as I can tell only the Sun has the story so I am not prepared to believe it yet.
July 21, 200816 yr Much better than the "give me more money you disgusting f**kpigs or I leave" attidude of the Drogba's of this world! :D Give it a rest. You sound like a broken record.
July 22, 200816 yr Well its on the BBC website now (sorry for no link, I give up with them) - so I'd take it as official. Brilliant news, tying down the stars and getting rid of dead wood, something we've needed for a while. So we've got Ricky and Joe on a 3 year (4 years signed last Summer) JT on a 4 (signed 5 last Summer) and Cech and Essien on a 5 year - happy days!
July 22, 200816 yr Chelsea Football Club is delighted to confirm that Michael Essien has signed a new five-year contract that keeps him at Stamford Bridge until 2013.The Ghana midfielder finalised the deal as the team touched down in China. Essien said : 'I am really pleased to have extended my contract with Chelsea. I am very happy here; we have a great team and fantastic fans who have always made me welcome. With the addition of the new manager, I am feeling very positive about the season ahead.' Luiz Felipe Scolari said: 'I have not been here long but it is clear to me that Michael Essien is one of the best midfield players in the world. I have always admired him and it is good news for me and for Chelsea that he signs for so long.' Essien was the Chelsea fans' Player of the Year for the 2006/07 season. Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon added: 'Since we signed Michael in 2005 he has been a fantastic player for Chelsea. I think everyone has been impressed by his power and skill. He is a player who would improve any team in Europe so we are very happy he has committed his future to Chelsea.' In total so far, Essien has played 143 games for Chelsea with 14 goals to his name. He has won the Barclays Premier League plus the FA and Carling Cups since moving to Stamford Bridge. His strike at home to Arsenal in December 2006 was that campaign's Chelsea Goal of the Season. He joins Wayne Bridge and Petr Cech in signing new deals this week. Chelsea FC Official Site
July 22, 200816 yr This is brilliant news although I did expect it to happen sooner or later. You know how moved Essien was when we voted him the best player of the season one season ago. I think before that he didn't realise how loved he was in Chelsea. He is MVP after Terry for me.
July 22, 200816 yr outstanding news. in fact, no matter what happens the rest this tranfser window, new contracts for cech and essien is the best bit of player work we will do.
July 22, 200816 yr Author I can't believe we got him for so cheap (I can't believe I'm saying 80m is cheap!) I would have expected something in the 100k range. Great piece of business that is...
July 24, 200816 yr Give it a rest. You sound like a broken record. ES, he was harsh, but sorry, he was right. Essien is a player you never hear gobbing off about the team, never has anything but a smile on his face, and never gives anything than his whole heart out on the pitch. Drogba wanted that, and in my opinion, he had it, but because of a situation that was difficult on everyone he threw it away. Anyway, this is tremendous news. People on non-Chelsea sites refer to Essien as our Roy Keane. Maybe its more appropriate to say "our new Wisey" but I dont think Wisey ever quite looked as happy in his career as Essien does every game :lol:
