Michael Essien released by Indonesian club

by Graeme Jackson

Tuesday Mar 20, 2018. 09:32

Ghanaian veteran Michael Essien has been released by Indonesian top flight club Persib Bandung.

The former Black Stars midfielder joined the club a year ago and was recently revealed to have extended his contract.

However, Persib have signed a number of foreign attackers and need to open space in their squad to comply with Indonesia’s Liga 1 rules.

"[Michael] Essien was not among the players we launched because we wanted to fulfil the PSSI regulation of four foreign players in a team" club official Zainuri Hasyim explained.

Essien is expected to sign for another Liga 1 team, Bali United. The 35-year-old has also represented the likes of Olympique Lyon, Chelsea, AC Milan and Real Madrid in his career.