In his playing days, Essa was one of the most well known faces in Pakistani football, due to his regular goal scoring at international level.

[5] In June 2005, Essa was offered a playing contract from major Indian football team East Bengal FC after his stellar performance in the international friendly series against India,[6][7][8] but the deal collapsed after the club decided to retain the striker Bhaichung Bhutia for the next season following the wages demands of Essa.

[9][10] Essa was also later offered to play for JCT in India, and clubs from Oman and Maldives but the move seemingly failed to materialise.

[14] He also played in the 2010 season that the Geo Super Football League for Karachi Energy beating Quetta Zorawar 1–0 in final.

Essa scored his first senior international goal in a free-kick against India, in the first match of the 2005 Pakistan-India friendly series at the Ayub National Stadium in Quetta to tie the game 1–1 with minutes to go before the final whistle.

[22][23] After advancing from the group stages, Essa's strike against Nepal led Pakistan to the final against Sri Lanka, which ended in a victory for the Green Shirts thanks to a goal by Adeel Ahmed in the half time.

[14] He was appointed as assistant coach of the Pakistan national team in 2018,[32] lasting during the tenure of former PFF president Faisal Saleh Hayat, who was ousted by FIFA in June 2019.

[16] Essa's younger cousin Kaleemullah Khan is also a footballer and represented the Pakistan national team.

Essa is the co-founder of Pak Afghan Clearing Agency, founded as a hybrid of a department and football club.