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John Obi Mikel, former Super Eagles captain, has disclosed the club his family wanted him to move to during the transfer tussle between Manchester United and Chelsea.
Mikel made a transfer move to Chelsea in 2006 following a long transfer battle with Manchester United.
The midfielder was invited to practice at Carrington before the 2003 FIFA U17 World Cup, and Manchester United took the initial step to recruit him.
However, Chelsea blocked United's attempt to sign the former Super Eagles star, sending him to Lyn in Norway to fulfil the conditions for obtaining a work visa in the UK.
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13:23 - 09.08.2024
‘I couldn’t wait to be a Chelsea player’ - Mikel Obi calls his time with the Blues ‘Amazing’
Mikel Obi, Super Eagles former captain has opened up on his time at Chelsea, calling it an amazing career.
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07:23 - 09.08.2024
I promise you — Mikel Obi predicts big season for two Chelsea stars
Super Eagles legend John Mikel Obi has predicted a huge season for two Chelsea stars under new boss Enzo Maresca.
Mikel opens up on transfer move
Mikel Obi has revealed that he was caught in two minds during the transfer tussle between Man United and Chelsea.
He also spoke about the decision his family made regarding the club he should join before he made his final decision.
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Mikel said on The Obi One Podcast, "Of course, the biggest club back then was obviously Manchester United and every kid you speak to growing up wants to play for Manchester United.
"This young new vibrant manager just coming to the Premier League, Jose Mourinho, the special one, managing Chelsea and has won the league back-to-back, and then you're sitting there thinking, 'should I play for the biggest manager in the world Sir Alex Ferguson or should I join a new vibrant manager?'
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"I had to make that decision. For me, it was not an easy decision because you have family members saying, 'What are you doing, go to Manchester United'.
"You have your friends saying 'go to Manchester United, they are the biggest club in the world. You are going to become the first Nigerian player to play for Manchester United.
"For me to make that decision of going to Chelsea was a massive decision. I was saying this is my decision I'm going to live with, I'm going to go with this and it's paid out really well."
Mikel made 372 appearances across all competitions while he was a player at Chelsea from 2006 to 2017.
The 2013 AFCON winner called his career at Chelsea fantastic and would never, never trade it for anything.
He left Chelsea having won the Premier League twice, the FA Cup four times, the League Cup twice, the Champions League and the Europa League.
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