Marcel Desailly: My wealth allowed me to establish academy, do charity work in Ghana

Marcel Desailly has described himself as “lucky” for being able to use his wealth to give back to the less-privileged in Ghana.

The former Chelsea and AC Milan defender was born in Ghana but emigrated to France at a young age and went on to represent Les Bleus at the international level.

While Desailly spends the majority of his time outside Ghana, he frequents the West African nation to undertake charity work.

Desailly has also invested heavily in sports development in Ghana and used to be the owner of the Lizzy Sports Complex located in East Legon, Accra.

Marcel Desailly sees himself more as a legend than a star

Discussing his success so far, the 56-year-old said he finds himself in a lucky place to be able to give back to society.

“I’m lucky. Because of my wealth, I’ve been able to create an academy and do a lot of charity work in Ghana, to give back a little bit,” he told the Guardian.

“And at the same time I continue to stay very close to football. I’m involved with Fifa. I’m involved with Uefa. It’s much more useful than being a coach, taking care of only one team. I don’t know if I was a star, but I’m now a legend. And through the legend, I feel the sun is shining.”

The ex-France international also said his reluctance to commit fully to management was the reason why he hasn’t ventured into coaching.

Desailly enjoyed a trophy-laden career that saw him line up for AC Milan, Olympique Marseille and Chelsea.

Having called time on his career in 2006, the former centre-back undertook his coaching badges and graduated with a UEFA Pro Licence.

Despite earning his coaching badges, Desailly has never managed any side and he has now disclosed that that is because he isn't ready to commit to the demanding lifestyle of a manager.

“I did my coaching badges. The only reason I didn’t go for it is the lifestyle. I didn’t want to be obsessed with only one thing in my life,” he told the Guardian.

“Because when you are a coach, it’s 100% of your soul. You need to kill the knowledge you have built over 20 years of being a soccer player, recreate a different philosophy and be able to put it in place. I wasn’t ready to face the frustration.”

Desailly, who was strongly linked to the Ghana national team job some years ago, is arguably the greatest player of Ghanaian descent who didn’t represent the West African country.

He won the FIFA World Cup, Euros and the Confederations Cup in what was a trophy-laden international career. He also won two Serie A titles with AC Milan and the UEFA Champions League.

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