The details of why an Accra High Court has ordered that two mansions owned by Michael Essien should be sold have now emerged.
Essien has been in the news recently after the Daily Guide broke a story about the Deputy Sheriff, High Court (Commercial Division) ordering for the ex-footballer’s properties to be sold.
Although the report didn’t divulge much details on the matter, it named the properties in contention as Essien’s mansions located at East Legon and Trassaco.
It has, however, now been revealed that the properties are not being auctioned because Essien is broke or took a loan and couldn’t pay back.
According to Angel FM sports journalist Saddick Adams, the former Chelsea midfielder signed a mortgage for the aforementioned properties many years ago and was paying for it in installments.
Saddick Adams said Essien later put the mansion in the care of his wife, Akosua Puni, who was then supposed to take over the payment of the mortgage.
When the payment for the mortgage ceased coming, the journalist said, the owner took the matter to court to try to retrieve the money.
He further explained that Essien no longer had an interest in the property and so reached an agreement in court for the mansions to be sold, so that he could use his share of the proceeds to buy a new house at another location, adding that the former Chelsea star currently owns several properties in London.
“Essien has not taken out a loan. He’s not broke. It is being reported that he is in debt due to several loans, but the truth is that it is a mortgage he signed while he was playing and was paying in bits,” Saddick Adams said on his show on Angel FM on Tuesday.
“Then it got to a time when payment was not coming through as it was supposed to. So the property owner or the bank that financed it decided that they wanted to take it back, so it is not a loan.”
“Essien also left the house in the care of his wife, Akosua Puni. He had no interest in it as his property, and so the control was left in someone else’s care who was expected to continue with the payment of the mortgage.”
He added: “According to a close friend of Essien who also had a property in the same area, the cost of the mortgage shot up while property prices in the area have also gone up.
“So when the case went to court, he allowed for the property to be sold and took his share to buy a new one at a different location. That is more advisable than paying, say, a hundred thousand pounds every year on the mortgage.”
Meanwhile, Essien enjoyed a hugely successful career in Europe, where he lined up for Lyon, Chelsea and Real Madrid, amongst others.
Since retiring from football, he has stepped into the realm of management and is currently an assistant coach at Danish side Nordsjaelland.
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