Sports News of Saturday, 10 August 2024
Source: www.legit.ng
John Obi Mikel has relived the experiences of the day he was unveiled as a Chelsea player at Cobham after visiting the training facilities of his former club recently.
Mikel had a successful career at Chelsea, spending 11 years at the Premier League club and winning every trophy possible, including the 2012 UEFA Champions League.
The Blues fought a long battle against Manchester United to win the race to sign the highly-rated teenager after he starred at the 2005 FIFA I20 World Cup in the Netherlands.
Mikel relives first day at Chelsea
The former Nigerian international, who left the club in 2017, returned to shoot an episode of his Obi One Podcast and shared the feelings of the day he was unveiled at the club.
“I stayed with that number,” he said of his number 12 jersey. “The memories of that day, it was a massive relief. It [transfer saga] was going on for about a year, I couldn't play for any club, Manchester United or Chelsea, because of the whole saga.
“After it was settled, it was a massive relief for me to join the club that I really wanted to play for, which was Chelsea. I just couldn't wait to be unveiled as a Chelsea player, my memory there was absolutely fantastic, I will never trade it for anything.”
As noted by Transfermarkt, he played under nine managers, excluding interim bosses, before he left the club in 2017 after a spat with new manager Antonio Conte over his involvement with the national team.