Michael Essien was widely tipped to be one of Africa's next rising stars. Essien made his competitive senior debut in the 2002 Africa Cup of Nations against Morocco on 21 January 2002. but had played for Ghana in a pre-tournament friendly against Egypt on 4 January 2002. On 16 May 2006, Essien was selected to be part of the team that represented Ghana at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. He played in midfield with team captain Stephen Appiah and Sulley Muntari. Essien played in Ghana's 0–2 defeat to Italy, their 2–0 victory over the Czech Republic, and the 2–1 victory
Emmanuel "Mannie" Essien signed to Rayramon Records Australia, and released his debut single in 2015 called "Moving On" featuring musician Ray Ramon and DJ Andromeda from the U.K. The music was co-written by Jenny Ramon from Australia. "Moving On" has received airplay on radio stations in Nigeria, Australia, and the UK. In 2014, his show "Good Morning Nigeria Show" was awarded the most outstanding radio show in the Nigerian Broadcasters Merit Awards. He also won favourite On Air Personality at Hollywood's Nickelodeon Kids Choice awards in Hollywood USA in March, 2015. Essien is married to Grace Edewede Essien with whom he has two