Former Black Stars midfielder, Michael Essien has denied claims that himself and some of the Black Stars squad (Kelvin Prince Boateng and Sulley Muntari) teamed up to destroy the Black Stars campaign at the 2014 FIFA World cup.
Reports came out that, these players convinced the other players to demand their $4 million appearance fees to be paid before playing against Portugal in the group’s final game.
This, however, resulted in Kelvin Prince Boateng and Sulley Ali Muntari being sacked from the national team while Michael Michael also went on self-retirement.
The midfielder speaking in an interview on Adom FM said Anas’ June 12 expose’ has vindicated him and his other colleagues.
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“Ghanaians will now understand the reasons why that incident happened in Brazil by virtue of what is going on currently in our football,” Essien told Adom FM.
“It will be very wrong for anyone to criticize me, Sulley Muntari and Kevin Prince Boateng for all that happened during the World Cup. Muntari, in particular, is a very good person and I have known him since our childhood days.
“He is not someone who keeps quiet on issues like me, so he always voices out when he thinks that things will affect the team as a whole and not himself. Everything is clear now how issues were handled in the past by the leaders of the football,” he added.
Essien also praised former Ghanaian captain Stephen Appiah for his leadership qualities and said he’s the best teammate at the national level alongside Muntari.
“My best playing mate in the national team during my time was Stephen Appiah and Sulley Muntari. Appiah was a unifier and through his efforts, the country qualified to the World Cup for the first time in 2006,” he said