Michael Essien has enjoyed a remarkable career, raising the profile of Ghanaian football around the world and helping to transform Chelsea FC into one of the biggest football teams in terms of fan following in the whole of Africa. In light of his achievements with Chelsea, Real Madrid, and even AC Milan, it’s truly sad to see the former Black Stars captain end his career by being told he is no longer wanted by Persib Bandung.
Essien didn’t exactly endure a terrible time of things in Indonesia with Persib (as he details here in an interview about his time at the club) but this latest development represents a relative fall from grace for a player once voted the second best African player to have played for Chelsea and one who managed to get his hands on one of the most respected trophies in the footballing world: the UEFA Champions League.
Investment in the casino scene? Where next for Essien?
It’s no secret that Essien has previously enjoyed taking a few steps into the niche of football coaching. However, since he is currently not attached to a big name team and, with his star power perhaps fading outside Ghana, it is possible that he could find it hard to secure a coaching role at a team worthy of one of the greatest Ghanaian footballers of all time.
Essien may think that coaching is his best bet when it comes to continuing a career in football, but his wife has already highlighted a potential alternative path for him, opening up the possibility of the Ghanaian great going further than just managing a team by perhaps actually buying a club as she has done (although, her experiences with Como FC might put Michael off slightly!). Indeed, with her team having financial issues and failing to perform in the league, it is entirely possible that Michael Essien could opt to steer well away from club ownership.
If football management and indeed club ownership don’t seem to fall into the short-term remit for Essien, perhaps he might take advantage of his amassed fortune to buy into a different industry. Millions of individuals in Africa watch football as a primary means of entertainment, and indeed betting on football games is a popular pastime, and it wouldn’t seem like the unlikeliest jump for Essien to invest in a closely related industry.
The casino scene in Ghana is an undoubtedly vibrant one, and investing in the gambling landscape could prove to be a savvy move. Clearly, the growth in casino isn’t isolated to Ghana, as you can see from scrolling through the endless games and operators listed on online-casinos-canada.ca for Canadian players, and from the huge boom in Asia where markets like Japan have led to new opportunities for international expansion, but Africa certainly represents a serious growth area for online and offline gaming.
Star quality?
Gambling isn’t the only available niche open to Essien and, should he be put off by the sort of competition hinted at by sites like online-slots.ca (with many of the brands there already operating globally), there are other sectors open to him that still link into the entertainment industry. Just look at players like Eric Cantona and Vinny Jones managing to enjoy some success with films like Snatch and Looking for Eric.
Given his star quality, incredible energy levels (especially on a football field) and globally known name, there is no reason why Essien can’t go on to become a star to rival other big Ghanaian movie stars like Yvonne Nelson and Van Vicker, landing parts in movies which suit his no-nonsense football approach.
With everything that Essien has managed to achieve in his career to date, you wouldn’t bet against him, that’s for sure!