Michael Essien has revealed he had offers from PSG and Liverpool before he joined Chelsea in 2005.
The Ghanian midfielder signed with the Blues from Lyon and went on to become a legend at Stamford Bridge, winning two Premier League titles and the Champions League.
"I had lot of offers [when I was at Bastia]. I was close to signing for Liverpool when Gerard Houllier was their coach," Essien said in an interview on Instagram Live.
"I even went to Melwood to meet the coach. We had a talk and I returned to France but the offers were still coming. PSG, Olympique Marseille et al, but I told Bastia I didn't want to move and they also didn't want to sell me at that time because they wanted me to stay for another year which was fine with me because I also didn't want to leave the club.
"So I stayed for another season, that's my third year with the club.
"Lyon joined the three aforementioned clubs to enquire about me but I thought it was too early to move to England. That was why I joined Lyon and later moved to Chelsea under Mourinho [in 2005].
"Lyon were my favourite team when I went to France because they were winning everything. I told my agent that if Lyon have come into the picture I'd like to join them."
