Michael Essien Quotes

From the moment I left Sao Paulo and Brazil, I was fixed on staying here, playing for the first team and succeeding at Real Madrid. That was always my dream. But it was an advantage to be able to join Castilla first.

Now I am finally a City player, and that's all I wanted since the start.

I would never have left Everton if it hadn't been Manchester United.

I had good times with Juventus but when you are offered the chance to come to Real at almost 33 years of age it is a great opportunity.

I fought all my life to be at Real Madrid, to try to be in the starting XI.

When I signed for Real Madrid, it was like a dream.

I want to play football, I love to play football so if that opportunity is not going to be given there [Manchester City] then I'm going to have to look elsewhere and may have to make somewhere else my home.

Ever since I was six or seven, I wanted to be a professional footballer.

I hope to play in Europe one day. It is one of my objectives.

When the chance came to join a great club like Liverpool, I weighed up my options and it was obviously the best move for me.

I want to be a footballer. I don't want to do anything else.

When Manchester City came for me it was the best choice to come here.

I was at Roma for two years, had two great seasons there, and everyone told me to stay, but it was in my mind to come and be successful in England.

When I left Arsenal, it was because I had done everything there and a big club like Real Madrid wanted me and even David Beckham couldn't turn them down.

I'm happy in Manchester and that's it. Moving to United was good for me. I play for a big club.

I wanted to play for United; I wanted to play at Old Trafford. It was always my goal.

I had three very successful years in Germany with Borussia Dortmund, but I had the opportunity to move to one of the biggest clubs in the highest-profile league in the world.

I've always loved the club. Kaka was my role model when I was young, and my aim now is to go down in Milan history.

I always said I just wanted an opportunity with Madrid, and that has come.

I got scouted for Tottenham and was there for three to four weeks before a phone call from Arsenal came. The first session they wanted to sign me so, happy days, I didn't look back. I'm an Arsenal fan, everyone in my family is Arsenal, so it wasn't a hard decision.

When I was approached by Arsenal in 2005, my world changed forever.

I received lots of offers, but Inter are a big club, and I can carry on growing here.

To grow up and play for FC Bayern Munich and eventually Germany has been truly a dream come true.

The Champions League has been the prime objective of my career.

It was always a dream of mine to play in the Premier League.