Former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, whom Michael Essien calls his ‘daddy’ and who sees Essien as a son, said the former Black Stars midfielder made him fall in love with Ghana.
According to Mourinho, Essien opened up to him in a way no other player ever did and that built a bond between them which exists to this day.
“He [Essien] wasn’t my player; he was my son. I’m his white dad,” Mourinho told B4KO in a recent interview.
According to Mourinho, Essien brought him to Ghana to meet his family and that trip made him fall in love with Ghana.
“The feeling is that [he is] more than a player for me. He was probably the one that took me to his home, to his real home.
“He took me to the place where he was born, to the streets where he was playing football as a kid, to meet the mum, to meet everyone that grew up with him in Ghana.
“He made me fall in love with the country.” he said.
Michael Essien joined Chelsea in 2005 from Olympique Lyon after being signed by Mourinho, who later also signed him to play for him when he joined Spanish giants Real Madrid.