Former Nigeria captain John Mikel Obi who played for Chelsea and Stoke City has come out to say dumping Manchester United for Chelsea 2006 was his best decision he ever made in football career. The Nigerian who retired from professional football recent at the age of 35 was the subject of a bitter dispute between two England giants Manchester United and Chelsea.
His decision to move to London, having initially signed for the Manchester side from Norwegian club Lyn Oslo, ultimately proved rewarding. Mikel Obi became one of the club’s most decorated players, winning the Champions League, Europa League, two Premier Leagues, two League Cups and four FA Cups in an his 11-year spell with the club.
He left the club in 2017, but he says he said he left the club a very happy man. He was asked about his decision to dump Manchester United for Chelsea and he said: “I don’t regret any decision I made because I enjoyed everything I achieved at Chelsea – it’s the best decision I have ever made in my life.”
He also said: ”I signed a pre-contract for Manchester United when I was 17. If you are a kid and you see Sir Alex Ferguson right in front of you with the contract, of course you will be tempted.” Having made plenty of previous running, Chelsea were shocked when he signed for their rivals. His agent John Shittu immediately travelled to Norway to bring him to England while Lyn swiftly declared him missing.
The news was all over Norwegian TV, with erroneous reports claiming the player had been kidnapped. He said: “I acted as a young kid and as soon as Chelsea heard the news, they came and got me out of Norway.” “That’s when people started saying that I was kidnapped. It wasn’t a great moment for me then. I just wanted to play football because I was so young.”
The fight for the Nigerian was between Sir Alex Ferguson of Manchester United and Blues Boss Jose Mourinho. He however picked the blue color over the red and joined Chelsea. Speaking about his defensive role which he played in Chelsea he said he discussed with the coach and the coach wanted him to replace Claude Makelele. He said Mourinho wanted him to take over from Makelele.