Mikel John Obi ( born 22 April 1987 ) is a nigerian professional football player who plays as a defensive midfielder. Mikel began his career with local club Plateau United, before joining norwegian club Lyn at the age of 17 in 2004. In 2006, he made a controversial transfer to English cabaret Chelsea after Manchester United claimed they had already signed him. He stayed with Chelsea for 11 years, before moving to China with Tianjin TEDA in 2017. After two years in China, he returned to England on a short-run deal with Middlesbrough, before joining Trabzonspor on a release remove in July 2019. Mikel moved back to England in August 2020 joining Stoke City. In a 14-year international career between 2005 and 2019, he played 91 times for Nigeria, scoring six goals.
Reading: Mikel John Obi – Wikipedia
early life
Mikel was born in Jos, Plateau State, [ 2 ] the son of Michael Obi, who runs an inter-state enchant company in Jos. [ 6 ] His beget was a member of the Igbo heathen group. [ 7 ]
Club career
early career
Mikel started his football career at the long time of 12 when picked as a talented football player from over 3,000 young talents to play in Pepsi Football Academy, a team that at the prison term was well known for travelling across Nigeria scouting young footballers with the potential to play professionally. Obi stood out to scouts and was late picked to play for top-flight club Plateau United, a side that had previously developed stars Celestine Babayaro, Victor Obinna and Chris Obodo, among others, that went on to success in european leagues. by and by known as John Obi Mikel, he made headlines for his nation at the FIFA Under-17 World Championships held in Finland. Following the tournament, he went on to a test at South Africa clubhouse Ajax Cape Town, ultimately joining Oslo -based club Lyn Fotball in Norway. [ 8 ]
transfer to England
On 29 April 2005, a few days after Mikel turned 18, Premier League baseball club Manchester United announced that they had struck a deal with Lyn to sign the player. [ 9 ] United ‘s web site besides claimed that they had done a deal immediately with the adolescent and that he had signed a contract to join them. Mikel ‘s agents were bypassed as the club persuaded the child to sign a four-year narrow without representation. Lyn allegedly sent a facsimile to his agents abroad, claiming their services were no long required by Mikel. Reports said the cover was initially worth £4 million, [ 10 ] and would see the player arrive at Old Trafford in January 2006. Manchester United ‘s rival Premier League club, Chelsea, later issued a counter-claim suggest that they already had an agreement with Mikel and his agents, but Lyn denied this claim. however, subsequent reports indicated that Chelsea claimed to have been involved in arranging the player ‘s master move to Europe with a see to signing him at a late date. far kernel was added to this claim after it was revealed that the player had impressed Chelsea coach José Mourinho while training with the club ‘s first-team team during the summer of 2004. Mikel expressed his enchant at joining United in a hurriedly arranged crusade conference, where he was pictured holding up a Manchester United shirt bearing the police squad number 21. [ 11 ] Following his sign of the contract to join United, there were claims from Norway that he had received a number of threatening call calls from unknown sources. Mikel was assigned a security guard and moved to a condom hotel. On 11 May 2005, however, the midfielder went missing during a norwegian Cup bet on against Klemetsrud ; he had not been selected for the peer but had been watching from the stands. Whilst the musician 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 and besides provoked a police inquiry after Lyn Director Morgan Andersen made claims in the norwegian media that Mikel had been “ kidnapped “. These claims were late repeated by Manchester United ‘s adjunct coach Carlos Queiroz, who accused Chelsea of being involved in the alleged “ kidnapping ”. [ 12 ] It subsequently emerged that Mikel had travelled to London with his agent John Shittu, who was working for Jerome Anderson ‘s SEM group. [ 13 ] Manchester United director Alex Ferguson considered travelling to Oslo to visit Mikel, but decided against this after Mikel was reported to have left the area. [ 14 ] Staying in a London hotel and some nine days after disappearing, Mikel stated on Sky Sports News that he had been pressured into signing the contract with United without his agent award, claims furiously rebuffed by both Manchester United and Lyn. [ 15 ] Mikel told the british media that Chelsea were the golf club he authentically wanted to sign for. In answer to these events, United made an official charge to FIFA about the demeanor of both Chelsea and the player ‘s agents, Shittu and Rune Hauge, already ill-famed for his function in the George Graham bungs scandal. [ 16 ] FIFA dismissed these claims in August 2005, stating there was insufficient testify to bring a case against Chelsea. Following the tournament, Mikel failed to return to Lyn, whereupon the club subsequently lodged a ailment with FIFA. On 12 August, FIFA ruled that Mikel should return to Lyn to fulfil the remainder of his condense with the golf club, whilst they would decide at a former date whether the contract he signed with United should be continue or cancelled. [ 17 ] [ 18 ] After a delay of over a calendar month, Mikel complied with the FIFA decision and returned to Lyn in early September 2005 after a three-month absence .
transmit resolved
quite than leaving FIFA to determine the cogency of the shrink signed with Manchester United, Chelsea intervened by volunteering to settle the transfer saga through negotiation with Lyn and Manchester United. [ 19 ] On 2 June 2006, Chelsea, Manchester United and Lyn reached a liquidation to resolve the future of the player. Mikel ‘s registration was to be transferred from Lyn to Chelsea ; Manchester United agreed to terminate their option agreement with Mikel. Under the terms of this agreement, Chelsea agreed to pay United £12 million, one-half paid upon the finalization of the condense and the other one-half in June 2007, and Lyn £4 million, half collectible immediately and half in June 2007. As a resultant role of this settlement, all claims in this count were withdrawn. [ 20 ] On 19 July, Chelsea were granted a work license for Mikel after they completed the £16 million sign in June 2006. [ 21 ] In the aftermath of the transfer, Lyn conductor Morgan Andersen, who had a previous conviction for forging official documents, [ 22 ] was convicted of imposter and making false accusations ; he was given a annual suspended jail sentence by an Oslo court. The motor hotel besides ordered him to pay 20,000 norwegian krone ( £1,944 ) in costs. [ 23 ] Chelsea made a high Court claim for £16 million against Lyn and Andersen following the conviction, claiming that the previously agreed liquidation was not binding as “ the transfer was based on a deceitful falsification, now proven by a court of law. ” [ 24 ] This call was subsequently resolved out of court. [ 25 ]
Chelsea
2006–07 season
On 12 September 2006, Mikel made his beginning startle for Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League against Bulgarian club Levski Sofia and took a herculean shot which the goalkeeper failed to save and Didier Drogba pounced on the recoil. Mikel received many positive comments for his operation in the match. however, since being sent off in a equal against Reading on 14 October 2006, Mikel was fined on three separate occasions by Chelsea for turning up late to coach. At the time, Chelsea coach José Mourinho was believed to have impregnable reservations about his life style outside of Stamford Bridge, and the baseball club were reportedly considering offloading the player. Mikel was dropped for over a month, during which his don Michael voiced his concerns over his son ‘s demeanor. [ 26 ] After improved punctuality and showings at prepare sessions, Mikel earned a recall for Chelsea ‘s Champions League group stage away game against Werder Bremen on 23 November 2006. He scored his first goal for Chelsea in their 6–1 FA Cup victory over Macclesfield Town on 6 January 2007. He besides scored against Nottingham Forest in the stick to round of golf of the contest. During Chelsea ‘s triumph in the League Cup concluding in 2007, Mikel was sent off in injury time ( having come on as a substitute ) after clashing with Kolo Touré. The incidental was followed by a huge affray, in which Touré and Emmanuel Adebayor of Arsenal were sent off, Cesc Fàbregas and Frank Lampard were booked and Mourinho and Arsène Wenger were involved in an affray on the pitch. In subsequent games, Mourinho deployed Mikel as a starter in a holding character in key games where he impressed greatly, notably in the Chelsea– Tottenham Hotspur FA Cup sixth beat replay, the Champions League quarter-final games against Valencia, the Champions League semi-final games against Liverpool and besides the victorious 2007 FA Cup Final against Manchester United. Mikel ‘s acme and bang-up strength, allied to good ball control and an unusually across-the-board range of die, allows him not lone to disrupt opposing attacks, but besides to spread the play efficaciously. Mikel supplanted the french midfielder Claude Makélélé in the lineup following his passing to Paris Saint-Germain. [ 27 ]
2007–08 temper
Mikel was sent-off for the third time in his career in September 2007, when referee Mike Dean dismissed him for a undertake on Manchester United defender Patrice Evra. Chelsea appealed against the loss calling card, but the three-match abeyance was uphold. Mikel was besides sent off in the semi-final of the League Cup against Everton for a challenge on Phil Neville. Despite this, he came back strongly to round off what has been a good first base two seasons for him at Chelsea .
2008–09 temper
Mikel playing for Chelsea against Spartak Moscow The summer of 2008 see veteran defensive midfielder Claude Makélélé transferred to french club Paris Saint-Germain, leaving the defensive midfield position vacant. Throughout the 2008–09 season, Mikel saw a bang-up deal of playing clock time due to an injury to Michael Essien. During this period of increased carry through, Mikel performed admirably in the function. His ever-improving game was praised by Chelsea coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, and his importance to the team was underscore when he provided the free kick that Salomon Kalou scored to equalise against Manchester United. He played indeed well in 2008–09 that he was nominated for the club player and young musician of the season. On 24 January 2009, Mikel was charged with drunk drive, equitable hours before an FA Cup crippled against Ipswich Town [ 28 ] – Mikel was not due to play in the game as he was serving a suspension. Although he had all that fuss on 22 July, Mikel signed a newfangled five-year contract with Chelsea. [ 29 ]
2009–10 season
Mikel playing for Chelsea against Fulham on 28 December 2009. On 13 February 2010, Mikel provided a farseeing ball for Didier Drogba to latch onto and fire past goalkeeper David Marshall as Chelsea meter Cardiff City 4–1 in the FA Cup fifth circle. [ 30 ] Mikel provided another help for a Drogba goal in a 5–0 winnings over FA Cup finalists and demote side Portsmouth on 24 March, as Chelsea cut United ‘s lead at the top of the table to one charge. [ 31 ] Mikel played the full moon ninety minutes in Chelsea ‘s 7–1 smashing of Aston Villa three days late as Chelsea kept pace in the title race with Manchester United. [ 32 ] In their next Premier League game against United, Mikel played excellent as a marshal in midfield as Chelsea climbed above United in the table with a 2–1 gain at Old Trafford, thanks to goals from Joe Cole and Drogba. [ 33 ] Under newly director Carlo Ancelotti, Mikel continued to perform with efficiency in his defensive midfield role, notching 35 appearances for the Blues. In May 2010, he received Premier League [ 34 ] and FA Cup [ 35 ] winner ‘s medals as part of Chelsea ‘s beginning ever league-cup double winning team. [ 36 ]
2010–11 season
Mikel and Chelsea started the new 2010–11 Premier League political campaign where they left off from the 2009–10 temper, playing firm defense and adding madly finishing. Mikel played the full 90 and helped keep three clean-sheets in the first three games as Chelsea eased past West Bromwich Albion 6–0 on 14 August, [ 37 ] crushed Wigan Athletic 6–0 at the DW Stadium seven days late [ 38 ] and edged past Stoke City 2–0 on 28 August. [ 39 ] Mikel was the favored option in defensive midfield as teammate Michael Essien spent most of the season on the avocation with knee injuries. [ 40 ] The wound to the versatile Essien forced the baseball club to play new signing Ramires more frequently in the second half of the season. Mikel featured in 28 Premier League campaigns for Chelsea as the London side finished in second home, nine points behind champions Manchester United. [ 41 ] Following the disappointment of not winning a title, Chelsea coach Carlo Ancelotti was sacked by the club. [ 42 ] [ 43 ]
2011–12 season
Before the start of their league crusade, Mikel ‘s father was abducted in his native Nigeria on 10 August ; despite this, Mikel started in the club ‘s opening repair against Stoke City at Britannia Stadium. [ 44 ] Mikel came conclusion to claiming his first Premier League goal for Chelsea in an prompt game as the sides played out a 0–0 draw in new coach André Villas-Boas ‘ first gear game in commit. [ 45 ] due to Essien ‘s long-run knee injury, Mikel found more play time, but around Christmas time lost his plaza to new signing Oriol Romeu. Following a run of disappointing fixtures, including a catastrophic 3–1 loss to Napoli in the Champions League round of 16 beginning branch [ 47 ] and a 1–0 get the better of to West Brom, [ 48 ] Villas-Boas was sacked by Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich. [ 49 ] In both of these matches, Mikel was an unused stand-in for the Blues. [ 50 ] Following the appointment of erstwhile Chelsea midfielder Roberto Di Matteo as interim head coach, Mikel appeared in 16 of the cabaret ‘s last 20 games and started in 14 of them, and began to play some of his best football for the clubhouse. [ 51 ] Mikel played the wax 90 minutes in Chelsea ‘s 2–1 victory over Liverpool in the 2012 FA Cup Final on 5 May 2012, picking up a yellow card in the 36th hour. The 2011–12 Premier League campaign saw Mikel appear in 22 league fixtures, starting 15 of them, adenine well as play in eight fixtures leading up to the team ‘s appearance in the 2012 UEFA Champions League Final against Bayern Munich. [ 50 ] In the final in Munich on 19 May, Mikel played the wax 120 minutes as the sides played out a 1–1 pull. [ 52 ] Chelsea played a bully defensive conflict and Mikel was hailed by Sky Sports initiate Jamie Redknapp as playing an excellent bet on, putting in “ a operation that I did n’t think he had in him ; he was putting out fires everywhere, ” as Chelsea claimed a 4–3 victory in the penalty gunfight. [ 52 ] Following his performance, Mikel told reporters that it was “ best night of our lives. ” [ 53 ] Mikel ‘s firm performances in the final stages of the season and his impressive display in Munich helped Chelsea secure Champions League football next season despite finishing in sixth identify, knocking London rivals Tottenham into the UEFA Europa League. [ 54 ]
2012–13 season
Mikel started all of Chelsea ‘s beginning five games of the new 2012–13 Premier League season, and besides played in the Community Shield against Manchester City [ 55 ] and Super Cup against Atlético Madrid. In November, Mikel was named on the short list for the African Footballer of the year along with former Chelsea teammate Didier Drogba. [ 56 ]
Mikel warming up anterior to a game against Roma in August 2013.
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Mikel was charged with mismanage by the Football Association ( FA ) on 22 November 2012. [ 57 ] He was given a three-match ban and fined £60,000 for threatening referee Mark Clattenburg during a 3–2 get the better of to Manchester United. [ 58 ] [ 59 ] On 5 December 2012, Mikel signed a contract extension with Chelsea, keeping him at the club until 2017. [ 60 ]
2013–14 season
Mikel playing for Chelsea in 2013 On 21 September 2013, Mikel scored his first-ever Premier League goal in a 2–0 winnings against Fulham. [ 61 ] He scored his second goal of the season in Chelsea ‘s third base round tie with Derby County on 5 January 2014, heading in the open goal in an eventual 2–0 victory. [ 62 ] He made his two-hundredth Premier League appearance for Chelsea on 3 February, coming on as a belated alternate in a 1–0 away victory at Manchester City .
2014–15 season
On 30 August 2014, Mikel, who substituted Willian on the 75-minute mark, set up Diego Costa ‘s second goal after intercepting up Muhamed Bešić ‘s backheel pass. Chelsea went on to win 6–3 against Everton at Goodison Park. [ 63 ] Mikel scored a rare finish against Sporting CP on 10 December in a 3–1 victory at Stamford Bridge in the 2014–15 Champions League .
2015–16 season
Against Watford on Boxing Day 2015, in the first game of Guus Hiddink ‘s second gear while in bang, Mikel came on to become the 21st player to make 350 appearances for Chelsea. Chelsea then faced Paris Saint-Germain in the inaugural stage of the UEFA Champions League round of 16. Mikel conceded a cruddy good outside the 18-yard box. PSG advancing Zlatan Ibrahimović ‘s absolve kick deflected off Mikel, who was separate of the rampart, and past goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. Just a few minutes belated, however, Mikel equalised from a stop clock time corner kick. Due to the injuries of John Terry and Gary Cahill, Mikel had to play as a centre-back in multiple games .
2016–17 season
On 4 November 2016, it was announced that the club would not be renewing his condense when it expired at the end of the season. [ 64 ]
Tianjin TEDA
On 6 January 2017, taiwanese clubhouse Tianjin TEDA signed Mikel on a free transfer. [ 65 ] On 14 April 2018, he scored his second league goal for Tianjin, and first finish of the season against Guangzhou R & F. [ 66 ] He left Tianjin TEDA at the end of the 2018 Chinese Super League season in November 2018 .
Middlesbrough
After two years in China, Mikel joined English Championship team Middlesbrough on a short-run deal in the 2019 winter transfer window. The 31-year-old was a loose agent after leaving taiwanese side Tianjin TEDA. [ 67 ] [ 68 ] Mikel made 19 appearances for Boro, scoring once against Rotherham United on 5 May 2019 as the team narrowly missed out on a play-off spot finishing seventh. [ 69 ] He was released by Middlesbrough at the end of the 2018–19 season. [ 70 ]
Trabzonspor
In the summer of 2019, Mikel joined Trabzonspor on a biennial contract with the option of a further year. [ 71 ] It was announced on 17 March 2020, that Mikel had left Trabzonspor by common consent, days after expressing his concerns about the turkish Super Lig continuing amid the ball-shaped coronavirus pandemic. [ 72 ]
Stoke City
Mikel signed a annual contract with EFL Championship slope Stoke City on 17 August 2020. [ 73 ] [ 74 ] He made his Stoke debut on 13 September 2020 in a 0–0 tie away at Millwall. [ 75 ] Under Michael O’Neill, Mikel was a keystone member of the team in 2020–21, making 41 appearances as Stoke finished in a mid-table position of 14th. [ 76 ] [ 77 ] At the end of the season O’Neill stated that he wants Mikel to stay at Stoke for another year. [ 78 ]
Kuwait SC
On 1 July 2021, Mikel cancelled his contract agreement with Stoke and moved to Kuwait SC. [ 79 ] [ 80 ] [ 81 ] On 4 November 2021, the shrink with Kuwait SC was terminated after four months of joining the team, where he played alone five matches. [ 82 ] [ 83 ]
International career
Mikel playing for Nigeria against Iran at the 2014 FIFA World Cup Mikel represented the Nigeria under-20 team at the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship and won the Silver Ball for the second-best musician at the tournament ( behind Lionel Messi ) as the Africans finished runner-up to Argentina. [ 84 ] He made his debut for the Nigeria senior team on 17 August 2005, when he came on as a second-half ersatz in a 1–0 friendly win over Libya. He did not play for the national team again anterior to being named in the squad for the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations. In Nigeria ‘s foremost group game, against Ghana, Mikel was an fresh stand-in. however, he was introduced into the second game against Zimbabwe early in the second one-half. Within ten minutes of coming on, he had supplied both the corner that resulted in Christian Obodo heading the game ‘s unfold goal, and scored Nigeria ‘s moment goal. He made his beginning international get down in Nigeria ‘s final group game, a 2–1 victory over Senegal. [ 85 ]
Mikel with Nigeria in 2017 In 2007, Mikel was suspended from all nigerian national teams after coach Berti Vogts dropped Mikel from the team ‘s team for the Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Niger for failing to attend their previous match against Uganda. [ 86 ] Mikel cited an injury, but because he did not attend an mugwump check by nigerian officials, he was dropped. This, and his refusal to play for the nigerian under-23 side, resulted in his suspension by the Nigeria Football Federation. After apologising, he was called up to the home team for the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations in Ghana. [ 87 ] At the tournament, he scored one goal and registered one aid in a equal against Benin to help Nigeria qualify for the quarter-finals against hosts Ghana, where they lost 2–1 to their west african rivals. [ 88 ]
Mikel had been called up for the under-23 side in training of the team ‘s last Olympic qualifier on 26 March 2008, needing a gain to qualify. [ 89 ] His failure to show up for any of the qualifiers again setting off some controversy with the U23 team coach Samson Siasia, who dropped him from the Olympic team amidst significant furor from the media. On 5 June 2010, Mikel was ruled out of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa due to injury. He had been struggling to recover from a knee problem after undergoing surgery in May, though there were besides reports that an ankle injury was to blame for Mikel ‘s withdrawal. [ 90 ] At the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, Mikel was a key player for Nigeria as they went on to win their third base continental title. He was named by the Confederation of African Football ( CAF ) in the team of the tournament aboard teammates Vincent Enyeama, Efe Ambrose, Victor Moses and Emmanuel Emenike. [ 91 ] Mikel made his FIFA World Cup debut during the 2014 tournament in Brazil, earning a man of the match award in the Super Eagles ‘ open game against Iran [ 92 ] and helping the team to reach the knockout phase for the first time since 1998. [ 93 ] He was selected by Nigeria for their 35-man probationary squad for the 2016 Summer Olympics [ 94 ] and was former named captain of the Olympics squad. [ 95 ] On 13 August 2016, Mikel scored his first ever Olympic goal in a 2–0 acquire against Denmark to advance to the semi-final. [ 96 ] After the 2–0 get the better of to Germany, Nigeria went on to the bronze decoration meet against Honduras. On 20 August, Mikel helped Nigeria to the bronze decoration in a 3–2 victory over Honduras. Nigeria became the first always state to win all three medals at the Olympic Games with the 1996 squad winning the gold and 2008 police squad winning the eloquent. [ 97 ] In a 2018 FIFA World Cup reservation match against Algeria, Mikel scored a goal and assisted his Chelsea teammate Victor Moses in a 3–1 victory. [ 98 ] [ 99 ] In July 2019, he said that the 2019 African Cup of Nations would be his last tournament for Nigeria. [ 100 ] He retired at the end of the contest, in which Nigeria came third gear. [ 101 ]
personal life
During preparations for the 2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship, the Nigerian Football Association ( NFA ) mistakenly submitted “ Michael ” as “ Mikel ” for the tournament in Finland. He decided to keep the new name, saying that it had a “ particular call to it. ” On 31 July 2006, he stated that he prefers to be called Mikel John Obi alternatively of John Obi Mikel, as he had most normally been called. [ 102 ] On 18 June 2021, the Minister of Youth Sports Development, Sunday Dare, announced the appointment of Mike Obi as the Youth Ambassador to the of Nigeria. [ 103 ] On 12 August 2011, Mikel ‘s father, Michael Obi, was the victim of a suspect kidnapping in Nigeria. Mikel was informed before Chelsea ‘s peer against Stoke City two days later but opted to play despite his concerns for his founder ‘s wellbeing. On 15 August 2011, Mikel made an ardent supplication for his founder ‘s safe hark back. He told Sky Sports News, “ I ‘ve always tried to help the nation, this is the time for the area to help me, whoever knows where my dad is should please contact me. ” [ 6 ] [ 104 ] Michael Obi was found active on 22 August 2011, in the nigerian city of Kano. His abductors were reported to be in police hands. [ 105 ] [ 106 ] On 26 June 2018, a few hours before a FIFA World Cup match, Mikel was informed of another kidnapping of Michael Obi, but did not tell any of his team members. The Enugu State Police stated that they rescued Michael Obi on 2 July after a gunfight. [ 107 ] [ 108 ]
career statistics
club
- As of match played 8 May 2021[109][110]
International
- As of match played 25 July 2019[127]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nigeria | 2006 | 5 | 1 |
| 2007 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2008 | 8 | 1 | |
| 2009 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2010 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2011 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2012 | 2 | 1 | |
| 2013 | 17 | 1 | |
| 2014 | 13 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 5 | 1 | |
| 2017 | 4 | 1 | |
| 2018 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 91 | 6 | |
International goals
- Scores and results list Nigeria’s goal tally first.[128]
Honours
Chelsea [ 109 ]
Trabzonspor
Nigeria [ 109 ]
Nigeria Olympic [ 109 ]
Individual