Former Super Eagles captain John Mikel Obi has revealed why he left Chelsea in the English Premier League in 2017.
He claimed that shortly after Antonio Conte took over as Chelsea manager, he and his countrymen Victor Moses were invited to represent Nigeria at the Olympics, and the Italian coach informed them that if they declined, they should consider themselves no longer a part of his club.
He claimed he persuaded Moses to remain back while he represented Nigeria at the Olympics, and that when he returned, Conte demoted him to the reserve team.
Speaking in the latest episode of the Vibe with Five podcast, Mikel said,
“Conte was the reason why I left [Chelsea]. Once he came in, he was like, ‘You’re not playing anymore.’ Then I left. Obviously, when I saw Conte coming into the club, I was like, ‘My time here is done.’
“The only reason is when he came in, me and Victor Moses and we got invited to the [Nigerian] national team for the Olympics. So, I had a conversation with the club and he [Conte] said, ‘If you go, you’re not playing anymore for the club. Because I’m a new manager, we need to think about the club.’
“And I was like, ‘You know what? I’ve been invited to represent the country at the Olympics.’ And he was like, ‘Yeah, but if you go just know that your time here is done.’
“So, I talked to Victor to stay back. I said, ‘I’ve been here a long time. I’ve won everything that I needed to win. You’re just coming, so you should stay.’ And he accepted. So, Victor stayed and I went. After the tournament when I came back, that was it. He [Conte] never spoke to me. He sent me to the reserve team. I was training with the reserves. Then I started training alone for a while. For like six months I did this.”
Mikel left Chelsea in 2017 for the Chinese side, Tianjin TEDA.