Michael Essien his contract on 12 March 2007. It was feared Essien would miss the 2008–09 Premier League season after sustaining anterior cruciate ligament damage on 5 September while playing for Ghana. However, on 7 March 2009, he came on as a substitute in the second half of the FA Cup match against Coventry City. In his second match back from the knee injury, Essien scored just before half-time to give Chelsea a vital away goal against Juventus in the Champions League first knockout round. Chelsea went on the draw the match 2–2 and through to the quarter-finals 3–2 on aggregate. He
Michael Essien signed a two-year-contract with Greek club Panathinaikos. The deal made him the club's highest-paid player, with an annual salary of €800,000. He spent the first three months of the season recovering from a leg injury. He was due to make his debut on 21 November 2015 against Panathinaikos' archrivals Olympiacos, but the match was cancelled. He played his first match one week later. On 24 January 2016, he scored his first goal for Panathinaikos in a 2–0 away league win over Levadiakos. After a season in Greece, Essien was omitted from Panathinaikos' squad for the 2016–17 season, with the expectation