Michael Essien was on the verge of becoming a member of English membership Burnley however the transfer collapsed because of the membership’s reluctance to pay him simply £60 per week.
While the Ghanaian impressed the Clarets, the membership couldn’t signal him attributable to a coverage that didn’t permit them to pay any participant on trial greater than £60 per week.
Essien joined Bastia after collapsed Burnley switch
Essien finally ended up at Bastia and would later set up himself at Lyon, the place he gained two Ligue 1 titles earlier than securing a transfer to Chelsea.
“I discovered Michael Essien had been on trial here for a few days. One of the best players in the World Cup – and we hadn’t signed him,” former Burnley chairman Brendan Flood revealed some years in the past, as quoted by talkSPORT.
“The club policy meant we wouldn’t pay an apprentice more than 60 quid a week. It smacked me in the face that the problem was a lack of communication within the club that stopped our youth guys making an exception to the rule.”
He spent nearly a decade at Stamford Bridge, serving to the Blues to win two Premier League titles, 4 FA Cups and the UEFA Champions League.
The 41-year-old additionally had stints with Real Madrid and AC Milan earlier than calling time on his profession after a quick spell with Azerbaijani facet Sabail FK.
Essien has since taken to administration and is at present serving as a first-team assistant coach at Danish facet FC Nordsjaelland.