Essien gets ‘Worst Statue of the year’ in Ghana

With dust yet to settle in some quarters over what has been dubbed out of shape statue for great footballers like Cristiano Ronaldo and Diego Maradona, a sculptor has unveiled a statue of Michael Essien which has been described as the worst of them all

A statue of the former Chelsea midfielder has been erected in his homeland Ghana and it is fair to say it is pretty appalling.

Essien made 256 appearances at Stamford Bridge between 2005 and 2014, helping the Blues to win nine trophies, including two Premier League titles

Shown in Chelsea’s iconic blue home strip, Essien’s body looks severely out of proportion, while his face is far too jagged and lumps of his head appear to be missing.

He is also kicking the ball with similar technique to a toddler, his knees are strikingly thin compared to the rest of his legs and his shoulders appear to be armed with NFL-style padding.

Cristiano Ronaldo has also been on the receiving end of a poor statue after a disastrous sculpture was placed at the airport re-named after him.

The bust, designed by sculptor Emanuel Santos, almost broke the internet – with many pointing out that it looked more like Niall Quinn than the great man himself.

Perhaps the most bizarre football statue of all though was the one of Michael Jackson displayed outside of Fulham’s Craven Cottage.

It was placed there by former owner Mohamed Al Fayed, who was close to the singer before he passed away, but now resides in the National Football Museum in Manchester.

Essien started his football career with Ghana Premier League side Liberty Professionals before moving to Europe, where he played for Chelsea, Real Madrid and AC Milan winning lots of club individual awards

He was part of the Black Stars squad that qualified Ghana to its first ever World Cup in 2006 and helped the team reach the finals of the 2010 AFCON. The midfield maestro currently plies his trade with Indonesian topflight side Persib Bandung