“I made the right Decision of my life” Mikel John Obi says for choosing Chelsea over Manchester United
The decision Mikel John Obi took to transfer to Chelsea rather than Manchester United has been hailed as “the best decision I have ever made in my life.”
The legendary Nigerian and Chelsea player announced his retirement from football last week after a great and trophy-filled club and international career.
His 11-year stint at Stamford Bridge, where he made 372 appearances and won two Premier League championships, three FA Cups, the Champions League, the Europa League, and the League Cup, is what most people remember him for.
However, his career might have taken a totally different turn if, as was almost the case, he had joined United.
After the Red Devils approached the midfielder personally in 2005 and offered him a transfer to Old Trafford, Mikel decided to leave Norwegian club Lyn Oslo. However, Chelsea later claimed that they had already signed the then-teenager through his agency.
When Mikel’s representatives surprisingly sent the player to London to settle the transfer dispute, Lyn and the local media falsely reported that he had been kidnapped, further complicating the already complicated situation.
When I was 17, I signed a pre-contract with Manchester United, Mikel told BBC Sport Africa.
“Of course you’ll be tempted if you’re a kid and see Sir Alex Ferguson standing there in front of you with the contract.” As soon as Chelsea received the news, they came and brought me out of Norway since I pretended to be a young child.
People began claiming that I had been kidnapped at that point. I didn’t have a wonderful time at that time. Because I was so young, all I wanted to do was play football.
The Nigerian international admitted that he had always favoured a move to west London than Manchester because of Jose Mourinho’s ambition to sign Mikel, and Chelsea ultimately agreed to pay both Lyn and United compensation to end the dispute.
The 35-year-old asserted, “I don’t regret any of the decisions I took because I appreciated everything I did at Chelsea – it’s the best decision I have ever made in my life.”
After leaving Chelsea in 2017, Mikel had time at Tianjin in China, Middlesbrough, Trabzonspor in Turkey, Stoke, and Kuwait SC.
He played 91 times for Nigeria at the international level, winning the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, placing third in three additional competitions, won a bronze medal at the 2016 Olympics, and competing in two World Cups.
In addition to the World Cup, he continued, “I always wanted to win the Champions League since it is the biggest football event in the world.”
It was wonderful to later achieve success with the national squad. I said I want to win anything with the national team when I was a child after watching players like Jay-Jay Okocha and Kanu.
“I am thrilled to have accomplished that. I will place each of them at the top of my list of prized medals.