Former Ghanaian international and Chelsea star Michael Essien has picked former teammate and English midfielder Frank Lampard as the best player he has shared the pitch with.

The duo played together for English Premiership side Chelsea, where they both won the UEFA Champions League, the Premier League title, the FA Cup, the Community Shield, and the Football League Cup.

Essien joined Chelsea from Olympique Marseille in 2005, while Lampard joined from West Ham in 2001, but both left the club at the end of the 2013/2014 season.

According to Essien, he played with a lot and loved all his teammates, but his midfield partner Lampard is the best of them all.

“Everybody is my teammate. I love all my teammates; I mean it’s hard to choose. But I would go for Frank Lampard. I mean, being a midfielder that scores a lot of goals every season is quite amazing”, he told Goal Africa.

Essien. 40, had a successful playing career which saw him play for top European teams such as Bastia, Lyon, Chelsea, Real Madrid, AC Milan, Panathinaikos, Persib Bandung and Sabail where he ended his playing career

Currently, he is attached to Danish club Nordsjaelland, where he works as an assistant coach.

LSN/KPE