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
Michael Essien he would be released from his contract. His termination by the club was confirmed almost three months later, after the two parties reached a mutual agreement over his release. After the agreement was reached and Essien was released from his contract, the club failed to remit the money owed to him and Essien appealed to the competent court for football affairs in Greece, which ordered Panathinaikos to pay him the outstanding sum of about thirty-six thousand euros or face the deduction of three points in the coming 2018/19 competition. Essien rejected an offer from Australian A-League club Melbourne Victory in