Michael Essien joined the Indonesian club side Persib Bandung, signing a one-year contract with an option to extend for an additional year. He took the number 5 shirt for the 2017 Liga 1 season, the same number he wore during his nine years at Chelsea.
The midfielder scored his first goal from a header in a 2–2 draw over PS TNI.
His move to the Indonesian league was well celebrated but another great player had already played in the league and his name was Roger Milla.
The Cameroonian legend whose star shone in the 1990 World Cup played for Pelita Jaya and Putra Samarinda in the Indonesian league.
Milla played for Pelita Jaya in the Indonesian league from 1994 to 1995, Milla was able to score 23 goals from 23 matches. A year later, Milla moved to club Putra Samarinda and was able to score 18 goals from 13 matches.
While playing for Persib in the 2017-2018 season, Michael Essien managed to score 5 goals from 29 matches and was often injured this affected his performance in the league.
Essien left Persib on 17 March 2018 to sign for Azerbaijan club Sabail FK.