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John Mikel Obi has refuted reports that he belittled the Ballon d'Or winner before the UEFA Champions League final game with Borussia Dortmund.
The former Super Eagles captain was in support of Dortmund in the final of the UCL which was won by Real Madrid.
Luka Modric was left on the bench in the final but was substituted into the game in the second half, with Mikel reportedly claiming he was not good enough.
There were also rumours that he declared he was sick of Madrid players who weren't talented enough to win the UCL but were lucky to be on a winning squad that had won the cup multiple times.
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09:22 - 02.08.2024
He lost it - Carlo Ancelotti tells Mikel Obi why Gareth Bale fell off at Real Madrid
Carlo Ancelotti was the special guest on Mikel Obi's podcast where he spoke about Gareth Bale's struggles in the latter part of his career at Real Madrid.
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05:33 - 02.08.2024
I could be Africa's most successful - Nigerian icon Mikel Obi targets top spot as he considers going into coaching
Mikel Obi's encounter with former boss Carlo Ancelotti seems to have inspired him to consider going into coaching.
Mikel speaks on rumours
The 2013 AFCON winner responded to a significant amount of criticism on the internet by denying the rumours and saying he had never spoken about them.
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Mikel said on the Obi One Podcast, “That’s bulls**t. The human being who’d come out and say that Luka Modric, Carvajal, Kroos and Nacho are not good enough is unbelievable.
“These guys are world-class footballers. I never said something like that, and I’ll never say something like that.
“If you see someone who says something like that, you’d think he’s insane. That was fake news.
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“Carvajal is probably a Ballon d’Or nominee. For someone who knows the game and plays the game, I can never say something like that.
“I met Luka and he was all smiles. He didn’t even believe I’d say something like that. My utmost respect goes out to these guys, they’ve made football what it is today.
“They’re the legends of the game, Legends of Real Madrid. They’ve won the Champions League six times, and you say they’re not good? Come on.”
Meanwhile, Mikel has also tipped one of the Spanish players to win the next Ballon d’Or award after an impressive tournament with Spain.
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