Michael Essien's 30th birthday party at Real Madrid was attended by just two players

The less said about Jose Mourinho's 2012/13 season with Real Madrid, the better.

It was a campaign blighted by negativity within the squad, with Mourinho himself clashing with Cristiano Ronaldo, Sergio Ramos and - most famously - Iker Casillas.

Unsurprisingly, Los Blancos ended the season without a trophy and Mourinho re-joined Chelsea in the summer of 2013.

The atmosphere around the Real Madrid squad throughout 2012/13 was pretty toxic and never was that more apparent than the night of Michael Essien's 30th birthday.

Essien had moved to Los Blancos on loan to rejoin forces with Mourinho after the pair had forged a great relationship during their days together at Chelsea.

During his short time at the Bernabeu, the Ghanian midfielder celebrated his milestone birthday and invited the entire Real Madrid squad to attend a party to celebrate.

Come the night itself, only Luka Modric and Ricardo Carvalho - a former teammate at Chelsea - turned up, with the pair posing for a picture with Essien.

It's a pretty heartbreaking image and Essien just looks happy that at least two members of the squad turned up.

In the book 'Jose Mourinho: Up Close and Personal', author Rob Beasley writes, per Marca: "Mourinho said that Madrid was a political club with warring factions and told me a story about Essien inviting teammates to his 30th birthday but only a few turned up.

"He had to console Essien, saying it was nothing personal and that it didn't mean the players didn't like him but they simply were only concerned with themselves and had better things to do."

Poor ol' Michael. But from a strictly footballing perspective, Essien's temporary move to the Spanish capital was a pretty successful one.

He may not have won trophies, but the Ghanaian midfield enforcer managed to play 35 times in all competitions, scoring two goals and contributing with one assist.

His performances warranted a bigger turnout at his birthday, that's for sure!

https://www.givemesport.com/1603236-michael-essiens-30th-birthday-party-at-real-madrid-was-attended-by-just-two-players?autoplay=on

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