Michael Essien Set to Join Croatian Outfit after Almost 8 Months without a Club

Michael Essien looks all set to join Croatian outfitRadio Rijeka after searching for a club for several months.

The midfielder is reportedly set to sign a new contract with the table leaders in the Croatian league. He has been without a club since leaving Panathinaikos on an acrimonious note back in August. Apart from joining a new club, it looks like Essien will also sue Panathinaikos to the tune of £500,000 in compensation. The midfielder believes that he was not being paid properly by the Greek outfit. However, Panathinaikos argue that the former Chelsea midfielder spent most of his time injured and unable to play.

Despite being the top player at the club in terms of wages, Essien was only able to feature in 17 games throughout the campaign. He made limited impact at the club. Essien was constantly injured with knee and leg issues. At 34 years of age, it looks like Essien is definitely coming to the end of his career.

He has been plagued by injury problems for the last five years, as he has been unable to feature regularly for his previous club like Real Madrid and AC Milan. During his peak days at Chelsea, Essien was regarded as one of the greatest midfielders in the world.

He recently ruled out on the possibility of retirement by saying that he expects to get back onto the pitch sooner rather than later. He has been training with Chelsea for the last few months. “He [Essien] came here, he left and he is blackmailing us at the moment.Of the 45 games, he could only play 17,” said Panathinaikos lawyer John Carmona. "I train with #CFC reserves who are always polite & good to me. I hope to find a club where my family & I would feel comfortable,” said Essien on his Twitter account.