From winning the Champions League to being rejected for being too old

The player, who learnt his trade in France, was one of the great midfielders of the 2000's, but time catches up with everyone.

Essien was first talked about during his time at Lyon. His great performances for the French side meant that Chelsea signed the player, making him one of the key parts of Jose Mourinho's team.

He had the best years of his career with the 'Blues', maintaining a consistently high level of performance in the first four years of the six he spent with the club. His final season with Chelsea was marred by injuries, but he was part of the squad that won the 2012 Champions League.

After Chelsea, he spent a season with Real Madrid, which coincided with Mourinho's first season at the club. Following on from his time with 'Los Blancos' he spent a while at AC Milan, but after that his career started to go downhill.

After two years with the Italian giants, he moved to Panithanikos during the 2015-16 season and then went to Persib in Indonesia, the same club that cancelled his contract earlier this year.

Essien had wanted to continue his career with the Romanian club CFR Cluj, but their coach Edi Iordanescu rejected him due to his age, as 'Sport.ro' reports: "We don't need 35/36 year-old players. That's why I put a halt to the negotiation".

However, the Ghanian wants to find a new destination to continue his career and does not feel he is ready to retire just yet.

There are those that think that Essien is too old to still be playing the game. Maybe they are forgetting that experience is an invaluable asset.

Be that as it may, Essien, the former Chelsea and Madrid player, will have to find a new adventure where he can contiinue his playing career.