Former Super Eagles midfielder John Mikel Obi has lifted the lid on why he has become very outspoken on football matters following his retirement from professional football.

The former Chelsea midfielder was largely known as a very quiet player during his playing days but became very vocal after hanging up his boots, mostly via his podcast show and as a pundit on other European sports channels.

Speaking in a recent chat with veteran Ghanaian sports journalist Michael Oti Adjei, the 39-year-old disclosed that drawing from his experiences as a player and witnessing how football is run by the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) compelled him to speak out.

"Maybe I found my voice later. I found my voice," Mikel said as quoted by Ghanaweb.

"The things that I've gone through over the years with the national team, seeing how things are done, the things that I suffered from the FA in terms of how the game was run, how I saw things was done, I knew things can be changed," he added.

The 2012 Champions League winner added that Nigerian football is in a state of turmoil, considering the fact that the Super Eagles have failed to qualify for two successive FIFA World Cup tournaments.

"I want to see Nigerian football grow because right now, we're declining. We haven't been to the World Cup twice in a row, and this is the third one that's coming up now and we still don't have a plan."

"I talk about the things that nobody wants to talk about most of the time. I say the things that people don't want to say."

"Sometimes it's not what people want to hear, but it is the truth," he concluded.

WDN