According to a Nigerian newspaper source. This got him angered. Several years down the line, 2Face, in a recent interview with Brila FM, quashed the rumours of such an incident ever taking place and insisted that the song was never a diss track nor about Mikel. Then some very good rumour monger picked a line from my song as regards patriotism towards representing the National football team and ran with the story of a rift between us.
I spoke with Mikel on the phone and we had a good laugh about it. Mikel was not due to play in the game as he was serving a suspension. He decided to go out to dinner where consumed between four and five glasses of wine after watching his team play at Stamford Bridge.
He was found to be almost twice the limit when stopped by police in his black Range Roger in Fulham Road, west London. He decided to keep the new name, saying that it had a special ring to it. This mix up has to be adopted in his passport. He started his official football career at the age of 12 when he was picked as a talented footballer from over young talents to play in the renowned Pepsi Football Academy. The Pepsi football academy was a team which at that particular time was well known for going around Nigeria to search for the best there is from all the upcoming future stars, young talents to later move on to rather more professional football.
Already then, Obi stood out to all the scouts. He got picked to play in a top-flight team Plateau United is also known for making stars from players like Celestine Babayaro, Victor Obinna, Chris Obodo and many more. These former footballers moved on to playing in European teams and representing their country later on in their careers.
The rest is history. He had an excellent tournament until Nigeria reached the final, where they lost 2—1 to Argentina. He was also awarded the African Young Player of the Year award in and It was Lionel Messi who won the best player and top scorer award. On 29 April , a few days after Mikel turned 18, Premier League club Manchester United announced that it had struck a deal with the Norwegian club Lyn Oslo to sign the player.
Lyn Oslo allegedly sent a fax to his agents abroad, claiming their services were no longer required by Mikel. Rival Premier League side, Chelsea, later issued a counter-claim suggesting that they already had an agreement with Mikel and his agents, but Lyn Oslo denied this claim. Mikel expressed his delight at joining United in a hastily arranged press conference, where he was pictured holding up a Manchester United shirt, which bore the squad number Following his signing of the contract to join Manchester United, there were claims from Norway that he had received a number of threatening phone calls from unknown sources.
Mikel was assigned a security guard and moved to a safe hotel. However, on May 11, , the midfielder went missing during a Norwegian Cup game against Klemetsrud; he had not been selected for the match but had been watching from the stands. Whilst the player was believed to have left with one of his agents, John Shittu, who had by now flown in to meet Mikel, his disappearance sparked massive media coverage in Norway.
It subsequently emerged that Mikel had travelled to London with his agent John Shittu. Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson considered travelling to Oslo to visit Mikel, but decided against this after Mikel was reported to have left the country. Staying in a London hotel, and some nine days after disappearing, Mikel stated on Sky Sports News that he had been pressurised into signing the contract with United, claims furiously rebuffed by both Manchester United and Lyn Oslo.
Mikel also claimed that he had asked the clubs for a week to think about it, but that this request was refused and the clubs pressured him into signing without his advisors being present. Mikel told the British media that Chelsea were the club he genuinely wanted to sign for. FIFA dismissed these claims in August stating there was insufficient evidence to bring a case against Chelsea. On August 12, , FIFA ruled that Mikel should return to Lyn Oslo to see out his contract with the Norwegian club, whilst they would decide at a later date whether the contract he signed with United should be upheld or cancelled.
Rather than leaving FIFA to determine the validity of the contract signed with Manchester United, Chelsea intervened by volunteering to settle the transfer saga through negotiation with Lyn Oslo and Manchester United. As a result of this settlement, all claims in this matter were withdrawn. He had a pass completion rate of This is higher than anyone in the premier league over that period.
For these three years, he was the best player in the premier league who never lost many balls. He was the best in good short passes. Chapman is a genius in his position. We give you a breakdown of his rankings below. Please check around for more articles that might interest you. Sign in. Forgot your password? Siasia, I believe, put a finger on the right spot with the last statement. It's quite apparent now to anyone who has followed the progress of this player that it was a mistake on the part of Mourinho to play him in the holding midfield position at Chelsea.
Jonathan Wilson, sport writer for the Guardian, puts it aptly when he says :. The position of a holding midfielder, as Siasia observed, did the immense talent of the player no good. Rather than developing into the star he seemed set to be, unlike Messi, who has gone on to be the world's best, Mikel Obi has lost the spark of genius that brought him early renown and looks a sorry case now when playing for Chelsea. Less talented players such as Arsenal 's Alex Song have since surpassed him in the same role and as players.
His horrible mistake against Liverpool only underscores how pathetic his situation has become. For this writer, the situation highlights how critical it is for players to choose clubs that are suited to their particular gifts.
It is hard to imagine the same stagnation that has overtaken Mikel at Chelsea happening to him at Manchester United for precisely this reason: The row over him was because of his prodigious talent as an attacking midfielder—a role he had played for country and clubs prior to Chelsea.
It is natural then to suppose that Sir Alex Ferguson would have continued to play him in that role. What has happened to Mikel at Chelsea is unlikely to have happened had he been allowed to continue to grow in his natural position. Alas, Mourinho destroyed the talent by playing in him in an inhibiting position.
As he currently plays, I see no future for him at Chelsea. Besides, continuing to stay there and being played in the wrong position does him no good. I believe the best option for him is to change clubs. This may not yield similar financial dividend as the one he currently enjoys at Chelsea, but in the long run it may prove the wise thing to do.
After all, at 23, he still has about 10 years left in his playing career. He should move to a smaller club that plays free-flowing football, but insist as part of the negotiation to be played in a more advanced position in midfield. Although a move to a club such as Wigan or Swansea, or middling teams such as Everton or Aston Villa , may be seen as a step backward status-wise or financially, this may prove to be the reviving catalyst for his career.
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