Former Nigerian Captain and Chelsea Midfielder John Mikel Obi has lavished enormous praise on former teammate Micheal Essien as he reflected on his time at Chelsea.

The 34-year-old who’s now based in Kuwait, was full praise when he was speaking about his relationship with Essien and how the Ghanaian helped him settle in Chelsea.

Mikel joined Chelsea in 2006 and went on to make 249 Premier League games registering a goal and 10 assists in an 11-year spell with the Blues.

The midfielder while reflecting on his time at Chelsea stated Essien played a pivotal role in helping him settle at the club.

“Suddenly, I was sharing a dressing room with all these players I had watched on television back in Africa,” Mikel told the Athletic. “I was sitting next to Lassana Diarra. I’d be there thinking, ‘Oh my God, it’s Didier Drogba. It’s Frank Lampard. It’s John Terry’.

“Michael Essien (who joined from Lyon in the summer of 2005) really helped me. Michael always told me I was a good player and just reminded me to bring the ball down, control and pass. If you need to dribble, dribble. If you don’t need to, just pass. You are strong. You are fast, too. If you can, just push the ball past and run, run, run because they cannot catch you.

‘”He was the guy who really helped me and made me have a lot of confidence.”

The midfield duo were key figures in Chelsea’s dramatic Champions League triumph in 2012 while winning a number of Premier League titles and FA Cups.