Chelsea midfielder, Michael Essien, yesterday gave evidence in camera at an Accra Fast-Track High Court in connection with the controversial issue of whether he indeed married his old-time lover, Veralie Dela Ackumey.

The evidence, which lasted over three hours, had lawyers from both sides entering the chambers of Justice A.K. Ofori Atta, the presiding judge, around 12:00 noon till about 3:30 pm when Essien finally left the courtroom accompanied by some sports fans and admirers.

Sources close to his former lover who spoke on condition of anonymity told the Daily Guide that Essien, in his evidence, maintained he never married Ackumey whom he described as initially humble but later showed her true character by having fits of jealousy and tantrums which nearly destroyed his football career.

He also reportedly stated that his mother walked out of the knocking ceremony after the family of Ackumey demanded a ring after being told by their daughter it was an engagement ceremony while his mum insisted that they never had instructions to present an engagement ring. To avert further confusion, a ring in Dela’s possession was put on her finger by one of her pastors.

The footballer also admitted that he indeed made a mistake when he prepared documents for her, naming her as his wife at the time he wanted her to join him in London. Essien said it was his former football club managers who helped her to visit him as she did not have anybody in London.

Ms. Ackumey, who has dragged the Chelsea midfielder to court claiming she is his wife, has told the court she has video evidence to prove she was indeed married to him. She is reported to have lost the case in a London court and is hoping to get lucky in Ghana this time around.

Narrating how they met, Essien stated that he met Ackumey, the plaintiff, when he arrived from France where he was on contract with Lyon through a friend and he said he started dating Ackumey, now a law student. He said he liked her because she posed as a very religious person.He stated that he initially felt like helping his ex-girlfriend financially when she told him she was staying with friends and later gave her an invitation to visit him in Lyon. She did visit him but had some difficulty with the French language and had to be taught the basics.

The footballer also reportedly told the court that a relationship developed between them when she visited him, adding that they were staying together before his deal with Chelsea got through and he moved to London with her where they stayed in a hotel for a couple of months.

He also noted that at a point when he built a house at Sakaman, he told her about it and gave her money to buy some items to decorate the house when she arrived back in Ghana; but after buying the items, his lover parked her belongings as well and moved into the house, even though he did not ask her to and did not even know who her parents were. Essien added however that he did not ask her to move out.

He narrated that on one occasion, when he arrived from London, she told him she wanted him to see her parents and they subsequently went to Kumasi where he got to know her mother.

In addition, he said after his visit to the plaintiff’s mum, Dela advised that since they were living together, he should present some drinks to the family for them to be aware that their daughter was really living with him.The Chelsea midfielder explained that after one of her visits to London, he gave her money to give to his mother to buy some items for the knocking ceremony and the items were bought for the ceremony.

He said, unknown to him, the plaintiff, who had her own agenda, told her people it was going to be an engagement ceremony and when his mother and brothers went to perform the ceremony, the parents of the plaintiff demanded a ring to which his mum and siblings protested by walking out of the ceremony till a pastor took a ring the law student had in her possession and placed on her finger.Essien, the respondent, stated that afterwards, she used to live at his residence at Sakaman and often visited him in London until she started having fits of jealousy anytime he received calls even from friends.

Essien said the obsession of the plaintiff became too much for him to bear and that at a point, his Public Relations Officer was forced to abandon him and he lost a lot of interview contracts among others. The respondent stated that the straw which broke the camel’s back was when one day she lied that she had been attacked by some armed robbers in London.The Chelsea star said contrary to her claims, a Close Circuit Television (CCTV) in his home later showed Dela injuring herself, whereupon she wept and apologized and even called his mum to tell her she was sorry for staging the suicide act.He said he later asked her to return to Ghana, which she did, only for her to return to London and start court proceedings against him. Essien added that he wanted the court to determine if the rites he performed constituted a customary marriage.