Has Midfielder Michael Essien Proved to Be Good Transfer Value for AC Milan?

Michael Essien always seems to have that smile. Even if he's on the bench—which happens a lot more now—or posting a picture on Instagram, that smile is still there.

But his days as a starter are numbered, if not gone for good. Chelsea let him go to AC Milan for free in the middle of January, partly out of respect for a player who gave them so much.

Essien: "I want to thank Roman Abramovich, the squad and Mourinho, who gave me the chance to join Milan." #Class #ThankYouEssien #CFC

— David (@CFCsocial) January 25, 2014

Knee problems unfortunately robbed him of his pace, and the Premier League was no longer kind to him.

The speed of Serie A is slower, but even in Italy, Essien has looked like a player on the verge of retirement. He routinely gives away the ball and cannot track it down. He is unreliable at best. 

It's truly sad to watch such a class act slow down to a crawl. Recent rumours about him contracting Ebola did not shake him or drive him to do something rash. Instead, he just chose to remember the real families struggling with the disease:

Essien is such a respectable guy both on & off the field. He is a class act & and he handled the rumor w/ class. Respect @MichaelEssien -MS

— Milan Brothers (@ACMilanBros) October 13, 2014

The true victims of Ebola deserve better and our thoughts & prayers are with them and their families.#sue

— Michael Essien (@MichaelEssien) October 12, 2014

Essien is all about positive energy, and he is completely likeable. He is just 31, too. The injuries stole a few more good years from him. 

He could have just stopped playing. He's won the Premier League, the FA Cup and the Champions League.

Milan offered one more chance, as they tend to do for aging legends, and that was a great opportunity to continue playing at a high level before joining Ghana at the World Cup.

It didn't cost much, but strip away all the romance and the business and look at the performances: He's costing Milan so much more on the field.

Essien was signed just as another stopgap, another reason to sell jerseys and another reason to sell an academy graduate like Bryan Cristante, who did not see enough opportunities with the first team.

A player like Essien has no business playing for a team in the early stages of a rebuild (or so they would have us think). Every player must have a future with this team, and he does not.

His contract ends at the end of this season, and it's likely that he will move on. He may not leave a lasting impression, but he'll certainly leave with that smile, the kind of player who never hangs his head—and rightfully so.