What if we told you Michael Essien could have been a Burnley player if the club were willing to pay him £60-a-week?

Not £60,000. Just £60. That’s not a typo.

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Essien will be remembered for a glorious Chelsea career which established him as one of the great midfielders of his time.

The Ghanaian superstar won two Premier League titles, one Champions League, four FA Cups, and one League Cup during his time at Stamford Bridge.

By the time he left in 2014, the £24.4million paid to sign him from Lyon in 2005 was considered a bargain.

But Burnley snubbed the opportunity to sign him for free just six years earlier.

In 1999, Essien had just starred for Ghana’s youth team at the U17 World Cup, where they were eliminated by Brazil on penalties in the semi-finals.

During a trial with the Clarets, who were part of the third division of English football that summer, he made a strong impression. However, an unusual club rule prevented them from signing him.

In 2009, former Burnley chairman Brendan Flood said in The People: “I discovered Michael Essien had been on trial here for a few days.

“One of the best players in the World Cup – and we hadn’t signed him.

“The club policy meant we wouldn’t pay an apprentice more than 60 quid a week.

“It smacked me in the face that the problem was a lack of communication within the club that stopped our youth guys making an exception to the rule.”

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Instead, Essien joined French club Bastia, and then Lyon, where he rose to prominence.

By 2005, the midfielder had secured two Ligue 1 titles and had been honored as the French league’s Player of the Year. This accolade paved the way for his record-breaking transfer to Chelsea.

In the next season, 23-year-old Essien was honored with the club’s Player of the Season award, surpassing renowned teammates such as John Terry, Frank Lampard, and Didier Drogba.

He ended up earning around £100,000-a-week at Chelsea, just a cool £96,940 more than Burnley were willing to pay.

Nowadays, Essien is part of the coaching staff at Danish club Nordsjaelland.

talkSPORT caught up with the now 41-year-old during his recent appearance at Soccer Aid.

Chelsea are almost unrecognisable from the iconic team which Essien played for, finishing 12th and 6th in the last two seasons.

Despite signs of life at the end of last term, manager Mauricio Pochettino was sacked and replaced with Enzo Maresca.

The ex-Leicester boss now has the task of meeting the standards set by Essien and co. with a squad worth billions.

However, Essien insists the new boss needs to be given time to get the best out of his young squad and return the Blues to former glory.

“Chelsea is a tough place, not only for players, but for managers as well,” Essien told talkSPORT.

“I think the team was gelling together well and playing good football towards the end of last season.

“It’s unfortunate they got Pochettino out of the way but I think their new boss will take them to where they want to be.”

He added: “I was there for nine years and I had eight managers. So you can see it’s a tough place.

“Our time was different, we had great success, this is a new generation and they need to give them chances to get where the club deserves.”

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