John Obi Mikel has lifted the lid on his decision to snub Manchester United for Chelsea, despite the efforts of Sir Alex Ferguson, David Gill and Roy Keane to secure his signature. The 37-year-old, who became a Chelsea icon after joining the Premier League heavyweights in 2006 and remained with the club until 2017, boasts two Premier League titles and a Champions League trophy to his name.
However, his illustrious career in west London could have taken a different path as he appeared to have signed for United in 2005 before making his move to Stamford Bridge. While at Norwegian club Lyn, a 17-year-old Mikel trained with the Red Devils and impressed so much that he inked a pre-contract with United.
A press conference was even staged with the ex-Nigeria international donning the club's home kit, but Chelsea intervened, asserting they had already struck a deal to sign Mikel after he caught Jose Mourinho's eye while training with the Blues in 2004.
Mikel met with Sir Alex and expressed his wish to join Chelsea, leading to Ferguson leaving the room after failing to secure his target. Speaking on the Obi One podcast last year, he recounted his encounter with the legendary Scotsman and how keen the former United boss was for him to join.
"I was s****ing myself, I was like 'should I go so hi or what', he was sitting over there with a couple of friends, David Gill was there, the former chief executive [of Manchester United], I was like 'oh my God he's sitting with the whole gang, the whole Mafia is there'," Mikel confessed, reports the Manchester Evening News.
