Ghana legend Michael Essien is regarded as a cult hero at the Stamford Bridge after seasons of winning laurels with the club.

Chelsea fans hold great memories of the midfield workhorse who earned the tag le bison for his high energy game and scoring important goals.

At Chelsea Essien worn his heart on his sleeves as he put great performances to ensure he stuck his name on the heart of every Chelsea fan.

But years after leaving the club Essien has for the first time revealed that he isn’t a Chelsea fan.

Instead the 35-year-old has openly stated that he supports Manchester United.

“I don’t know if I’m allowed to say this but I was a big Manchester United fan,” Essien said on the SuperStar show.

Essien had trials at Manchester United at the tender age of 16 and was bound to join the Old Trafford side but he couldn’t secure work permit because of his Ghana national team appearance.

Essien featured in several games against Manchester United during his Chelsea years and was a key figure Jose Mourinho deployed to getting important victories over his ‘favourite’ club.

After leaving Chelsea, Essien went on to feature for Serie A giants AC Milan, Panathinaikos and then headed to Indonesia.

He spent a season on loan at Real Madrid during the era of Jose Mourinho at the club.

Mourinho signed Essien for Chelsea from Olympique Lyon and went ahead to make 168 appearances for the club and scored 17 goals.