Chelsea legend Michael Essien has returned to the club’s field for Game4Ukraine, a charitable match aimed at raising funds for Ukrainian schools in the aftermath of the war against Russia.
The 40-year-old player joined other football legends to participate in an exhibition match between Team Shevchenko and Team Zinchenko at Stamford Bridge. Before the game, Essien expressed his excitement on social media about reuniting with some of his former teammates and opponents.
“Excited to meet former teammates and other legends at Stamford Bridge on August 5th for Game4Ukraine. You can get tickets now at game4ukraine.com,” he wrote on Instagram.
Former Ghanaian international Essien played a few minutes during this match, which ended in a 2-2 draw, with goals from Mark Noble, Darijo Srna, Clarence Seedorf, and William Gallas.
Essien spent seven years at Chelsea, helping the club secure multiple Premier League titles as well as the UEFA Champions League. After retiring, the former Black Star recently obtained his UEFA A and UEFA Elite Youth A licenses and worked as an assistant coach at the Danish club Nordsjaelland.
