Former Ghana midfielder Michael Essien says he will turn to Manchester United boss and ‘father figure’ Jose Mourinho for coaching advice as he considers a managerial career.
Although the 36 year old is yet retire from active football, the Chelsea legend has been without a club for over a year, after he was released by Indonesian side Persib Bandung.
As he ponders his next move, Essien admits flirting with the idea of being a coach after his retirement.
“I’m still thinking about it, to be honest,” he tells The Independent. “I’ve been following some of the coaches, trying to get a little bit more experience, because coaching is very different from being a player. I’m trying to see that side of it, and taking in everything. And when I decide to hang up my shoes, hopefully, I know what I’m going to do.
“If I want to go into coaching, Jose would be the first person I would pick up the phone and call and get some advice. I played with some top managers, so I can pick up the phone and call any of them and I’m sure they would help me out, they would give me some guidance and take it from there.”
Essien was brought in from Lyon in 2005, for the peak Mourinho years at Chelsea, when the Portuguese seemed unable to do wrong. Their dynamic was so strong that Mourinho took him to Real Madrid on loan when everything was falling apart around him.
