Super Eagles captain, Mikel Obi has finally lifted the lid on the transfer war between Chelsea and Manchester United for his services more than a decade ago.
Mikel initially signed for the Red Devils on April 29, 2005, but the midfielder eventually joined Chelsea a year later after they paid £16 million to the Old Trafford outfit and Lyn Olso.
The other actors involved in the case were Lyn director Morgan Andersen, agents Rune Hauge, John Shittu, Daniel Fletcher and Jerome Anderson, managers Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho and Mikel’s father, who wanted his son to join United ahead of Chelsea until he was approached by Shittu.
Mikel told The Sun: ”It was surreal, I was at school, but had Chelsea and Manchester United, two of the world’s biggest clubs trying to sign me. I’ll never forget that second meeting with Sir Alex. I’d signed a deal at United but had to tell him: ‘Sorry, I want to play for Chelsea’.
“He (Sir Alex) would call me into his office after training, point at the players’ plush cars in the car park and say: ‘If you work hard, next year you’ll be driving one of those. You are going to play for this club and you are going to be rich.’”
”He really liked me but I could see how angry and disappointed he was.
”Some things he told me made me think about changing my mind but I was thinking about Jose, too.
”I had these two great managers wanting me and I did not know what to do.
”Fergie told me: ‘Why would you turn down United? It’s the biggest club in the world. You cannot do that. You have to say Yes’.
”As a footballer, you have to make decisions that you live with for the rest of your life.”
Chelsea eventually changed his mind after a ‘military operation’, although the Blues had to pay United a £12m compensation.
“Roman Abramovich organised six cars to get me there. It was like a military operation,” Mikel told the Sun.
“I started in one car, then the drivers would talk to each other and suddenly I was dropped off and then picked up by another car.
“Once there, Jose Mourinho told me: “The boss really wants you. I’ll play you and make you what you want to be”. That really helped as there were times when I thought: “Have I made the right decision?’” Mikel added.
While the tussle between the two Premier League rivals was ongoing and preventing Mikel from playing, another big club was waiting in the wings.
“I had Barca waiting to pounce if the legal wrangle couldn’t be sorted, but felt obliged to sign for Chelsea as they’d looked after me,” Mikel revealed
Mikel was successful at Chelsea, winning the Champions League and Europa League, two Premier League titles, four FA Cups and two League Cups in his 11 years there.
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