Former
Ghanaian
midfielder
Michael
Essien
has
finally
disclosed
his
motivation
of
becoming
a
football
coach
citing
that
he
joined
because
he
didn’t
want
to
be
depressed.
Since
2020,
Essien
who
possesses
a
coaching
accreditation
following
UEFA
License
A—has
served
as
an
individual
player-coach
for
the
Danish
team
FC
Nordsjaelland.
“When
I
was
playing,
if
you
asked
me
if
I
wanted
to
go
into
coaching,
I
would
say
no,”
Essien
revealed
during
an
interview
with
Joy
Sports.
He
added,
“I
didn’t
want
to
be
one
of
these
ex-players
who
finish
their
careers,
go
home,
and
start
thinking
about
what
they
want
to
do,
only
to
get
into
depression.”
The
former
Chelsea
player
clarified
that
working
with
players
and
continuing
in
the
football
industry
was
a
logical
next
step
for
him.
Essien
started
his
playing
career
in
2000
with
Bastia
and
later
went
on
to
play
for
prestigious
teams
like
Chelsea
and
Lyon,
where
he
was
the
2012
UEFA
Champions
League
winner.