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An image of Ghana’s midfield maestro, Michael Essien’s statue, has generated lots of talk on social media after pictures of it were compared to those of international footballers, Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Diego Maradona

The art has been in existence for some years now on the Boadi Road in Kumasi but the artisan is unknown.

Essien commenced his football career with Ghana Premier League side Liberty Professionals before moving to Europe, where he played for top sides like Chelsea, Real Madrid and AC Milan winning lots of club cum individual accolades along.

Essien was part of the 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 who currently plies his trade with Indonesian topflight side Persib Bandung has witnessed his outputs appreciated in his homeland, with a statue erected in his honor.

Describing the sculpture, an international online portal said the statue “looks completely unnatural for a footballer to be in this position with his legs crossed and the ball at his feet.

“When you come onto his huge torso and a slight bit of belly bulging his shirt at the waist line.” Finally, the metallic creation’s depiction of Essien’s face is a thing of pure beauty. The artwork is clearly skillful but the likeness to the real thing is very questionable.”, the description read.