Obi Mikel on saying no to Fergie and his love for SA

This week we feature an in-depth interview with Premier League and Nigerian football legend Mikel John Obi. The star midfielder chats about the Chelsea-Man United saga, how he shunned Sir Alex Ferguson, and why he loves South Africa so much.

You are a legend in the world of football. But let’s look back at where it all started. You grew up in Nigeria, a football-mad country. Tell us more about that?

As a kid growing up in Nigeria, we spent hours watching football on TV, and the Premier League was the league to watch. We used to watch the likes of Jay Jay Okocha, Nwankwo Kanu, and they were our idols growing up. So for us, the Premier League was the ultimate league.

At what point did you know that you were star quality, that you were just a little bit better than the kids you were playing against?

I played football when I was about nine or 10. I used to play with the with the older kids, you know, kids at the age of 13, 14. And I remember people coming home and saying to my mom, oh, he’s going to be a superstar. And she was like, are you sure? But he needs to go to school. My mom just wanted me to play football and enjoy myself without pressure. I kind of knew, at the age of 10 or 11 that there’s something.

How did you find out there was interest in you from a European club?

When I represented the national team at the age of 17, we had a tournament in Holland, and that was where I got spotted, especially by Manchester United and Chelsea. And that’s when the whole thing started, and I had a tournament there, and I played well. When I came back home I told my mom and dad, I think football is what I want to do.

You moved to Norway first, right?

Yeah. The club’s name was Lyn Oslo. it was a culture shock to go from Nigeria to Norway.

You were getting noticed during your time in Norway. Were you ready for the attention? How did you handle this as a teenager?

It was difficult, especially when the whole saga started with Chelsea and Manchester United. And I just couldn’t handle it because I was so young. I was about 17, something like that. I needed people to talk to. I needed my family there, but I was alone with my friends. I didn’t get the advice that I wish I got and so I wouldn’t have been in that situation if I had that advice.

I’m glad you called it a saga because your move to the Premier League is like straight out of a movie. It sounds like a great plot for a series.

The whole thing started first when I went to Manchester United for trials. This was ages ago. And so, I had about a two- or three month-trial with United, and they absolutely loved me. Sir Alex Ferguson absolutely loved me and wanted me to sign for the club. Then I went back home for holidays with my family. And while I was at home, I got a phone call from Chelsea saying, we know United wants you, but we do too.

So Chelsea tried to pinch me from United. My agent called me and told me Chelsea were going to give me a better offer. So he urged me to go to Chelsea. Jose Mourinho was also really special. And Chelsea started winning trophies as well. So, I thought, why don’t I go to Chelsea and create my own history. And then I went to Chelsea. So United started calling me. They couldn’t find me. No one knew where I was.

So, I went to Chelsea and I had trials with them.

Claudio Ranieri absolutely loved me. Chelsea sent me to Norway to play there for a while. And then while I was there, I turned 17. And I played for a club in Norway. So, Fergie sent an agent to Norway with a contract to try to sign me. I think it was about a £1 million salary. His agent said to me, the boss has been looking for you. We’ve all been looking for you. Where have you been? You need to sign the contract because we want you at United, blah blah blah blah blah. So, I looked at the contract. I was like, wow, this is a life-changing contract for me, and I didn’t have a contract with Chelsea back then as well because I was not 18 yet. It was a massive contract for me.

So I signed the pre-contract with United and then I did the press conference and everything with the shirt. And then Chelsea was like, hold on, what’s going on here? We sent you to Norway and you signed for United. And so they sent their agents.

There are pictures of you on the internet in a Manchester United shirt. You had a whole press conference just on your own?

Yeah. I didn’t get any professional advice. My agent wasn’t there, my family wasn’t there. And I was sent by Chelsea to Norway to develop as a player. So, my agent came into came to Norway, came to the club, kidnapped me. Well, not kidnapped me, but kind of took me. He told me, ‘you’ve made a mistake here, but we’ll sort it out. The club is upset.’

So, he took me away from the apartment, took me to a hotel, booked a flight the next day and took me out of Norway. And there was this massive announcement in Norway on the radio stations: ‘If anybody knows where John Obi Mikel is, please contact the police? Because he’s gone missing. He’s been kidnapped.’

It was a whole saga. Before you know it, I was in London the next day, and then Chelsea took me. Once I got to London, they got me an apartment. I was staying there and nobody knew where I was.

This is an unbelievable plot because it gets more complicated then. You then sign with Chelsea and the FA was involved somehow.

What happened is that I go to London and then obviously United went mad. Everybody went crazy, reported me to FIFA. FIFA didn’t get involved in the beginning because they thought the FA was going to sort it out.

I was out for about a year. I couldn’t play for either Chelsea or United. So I was at home as a kid. Every morning I was like, oh my God, what have I done? When am I going to play football again? The FA got involved and then FIFA got involved finally too. So, FIFA contacted Manchester United. They got Alex Ferguson to fly into London. We had a massive meeting in the FA office where it was just me and Fergie sitting in the office. He asked me what had happened. Said everybody at the club needs me. Roy Keane, Paul Scholes are all wondering where I am. He said everybody needs me at the club and they want me to sign for United. I said, sorry, boss, I can’t because Chelsea have been looking after me and my family for a long time. It was a mistake. I shouldn’t have done it. You could see in his face. He went mad. He went red.

He was like, ‘What is it? Is it more money? You need more money? I’ll give you more money. What is it you need? I want you at the club.’ I was like, sorry, boss, I can’t play for you. I can’t come to United. The meeting lasted about an hour and then Fergie left. He went back to Manchester, and then a couple of weeks later, Fergie agreed to let me go. But Chelsea were told they need to pay a huge amount for me. So finally United got about £14 million. And then Lyn Oslo also got about £4 million.

How did you have the guts to say no to Sir Alex Ferguson?

He thought if he got me in the office, just me and him, he would be able to convince me to come to United. But then he saw that I was so adamant that I wanted to go to Chelsea and my agent as well was outside the office.

Before I went into the meeting, my agent said, whatever Fergie says, just say no. He will try to convince you. Just say no. So I was very adamant.

You fought so hard to get to Chelsea. We’ve just heard about the saga, as you call it, and then your start at Chelsea was a little bit difficult, wasn’t it?

I wanted to play and I think I just tried too hard to force myself into the team. I think I should have helped myself a bit more and try to learn as a young player. But because I was so used to playing, I wanted to break into the team straight away. And that’s why I tried so hard, even in the game.

Is Jose Mourinho as a manager the best manager you’ve worked with?

Tactically I would say he is the best. Pressure wise he’s the best. He knows how to get the best out of out of us. If you’re not performing well, he knows how to deal with you. He knew how to deal with each and every one of us. In terms of a man management manager, obviously there’s no better than Carlo Ancelotti. Carlo was the guy who gave us the freedom to perform.

You have mentioned in the past that you love South Africa. Why?

South Africa is somewhere I enjoy going. Also before I played in Norway, I played for Ajax Cape Town. So South Africa is somewhere I absolutely love.

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