John Obi Mikel found himself in a remarkable transfer debacle back in 2005, initiating one of the most sensational disputes in Premier League history.
Initially signing for Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson’s wing and even engaging in a photo session donning the United shirt, Mikel pivoted within days to join Chelsea for £18 million.
The intricate deal involved Manchester United receiving £14 million, while Norwegian side Lyn pocketed £4 million.
Amidst the escalating confusion between United and Chelsea, Mikel faced a considerable amount of explanation.
Reflecting on the events, Mikel shared with talkSPORT, “Then obviously Roman [Abramovich], everybody at Chelsea, saw it and they were like, ‘What’s going on here? We’ve been looking at this player for two or three years now, what’s happening here?’
“Obviously they sent my agent down to Lyn and then he came down to Norway, and then for a couple of hours I went missing. He took me out from my apartment where I used to live with a couple of my friends.”
“He was like, ‘we need to go back to London, I need to get you out of Norway right now because what you’ve done right now, it’s so much of a problem with Chelsea and Roman is not happy.’
“So my agent took me to a hotel and then the next morning we flew down to London, and the rest was history. Then it took me about a year, I couldn’t play for either United or Chelsea because FIFA was like, ‘OK we need to resolve this.’ So I went to FIFA and I was like, ‘I didn’t mean to sign for United’.”
Following this tumultuous episode, Mikel went on to leave an indelible mark at Chelsea, making 372 appearances. His contributions included six goals and 13 assists while being a crucial part of the team’s victories, including the Champions League, two Premier League titles, four FA Cups, the Europa League, and two League Cups.
Manchester United performance and stats
Manchester United
Manchester United is currently 6th in the Premier League with 21 points.
In the last 12 games, it has won 7 times and lost 5 times. In its last match, Manchester United won 1-0 against Luton Town.
It has a negative goal difference after scoring 13 goals and conceding 16.
Manchester United will play the next match in Premier League against Everton on Saturday 25th of November in Liverpool.
