Mikel Obi

Mikel Says he Spent over $30000 Helping to Organise Logistics at Rio 2016

Published

10 years ago

September 11, 2016

Godwin

The last is yet to be heard of Nigeria’s chaotic preparations for Rio 2016 as team captain, Mikel Obi has revealed just how much he was involved behind the scenes. Speaking with goal.com the Chelsea midfielder said:

“I think if we talk about the money that I put into the team I think it was more than [£30,000] but we just had to do it.

“I said to myself, ‘I won’t let this happen. If I can help, I’ll try to help’. Sometimes there was no food, sometimes there was no pitch to train on, there was no bus to go to the training ground. So all of this was what me and the coach had to figure out, and get money together.

“I came to the camp. I sat down with the boys in Atlanta and I could see the frustration, the pain and the anger. Their aim was to play in the Olympics, their goal was to play in the Olympics.

“And for me being there and seeing what they are going through, they are young boys, they want to start their career and someone in the ministry is trying to crush that dream.”

On the now infamous incident which saw the team arrive Rio with just hours to spare after haphazard travel arrangements he said: “There was just no flight provided by the Nigerian ministry. “We planned to leave three or four days before the tournament, but we ended up leaving the day of our first game. It was a difficult one. I don’t think I have ever seen something like that before, it was crazy.

“[After our last minute flight] we got to the hotel, dropped our bags, grabbed some sandwiches, something to eat. A little bit of food. Then headed straight back to the stadium because we hadn’t even done our accreditations then, so we had to go there and wait in the line, do our accreditation.

“It was absolutely hectic. I don’t know how we managed to go onto the pitch and win that game, it was absolutely mind blowing.”

He also spoke of his pride at winning bronze, Nigeria’s only medal at the competition.

“Sometimes I wear my medal around the house, it gets my missus jealous,” he joked as he showed off his medal. “The kids love playing with the medal. I am sure one day they will know what this really means.”

Still on the problems the team faced en route Olympic glory he said: “We had lots of problems outside the pitch, but I always told the boys that you shouldn’t let that affect what we came here to do. We still want to achieve what we came here to do. We still have to represent our country and play for ourselves and our family and the people of Nigeria.

“So if the ministry don’t want to take responsibility, we have to make sure we play for ourselves and our country. The boys understand that and we made sure they went along with my message that I kept putting across to them every single day and we managed to achieve what we did achieve.”

Celebrities

John Mikel Obi throws luxurious party to celebrate his twin daughters’ 5th birthday (Photos/Videos)

Published

6 years ago

September 14, 2020

Godwin

John Mikel Obi and his partner, Olga, have celebrated their twin daughters – Ava and Mia on their 5th birthday.

The one time Chelsea player and currently Everton player, gathered friends and family together to celebrate his twin daughters who clocked 5 yesterday being September 13.

Recall that few days ago, Mikel Obi took to his official page on the photo and video sharing platform, Instagram, to rain encomiums on his twin daughters ahead of their birthday.

According to him, he said his twin daughters are his world. He also said he’s proud to be their father, and that watching them grow has been the best thing to have ever happened to him.

Mikel and his heartthrob have now shared exciting videos and pictures from the birthday celebration.

See more photos and videos below.

View this post on Instagram

Photos from John Mikel Obi's twin daughters 5th birthday party which held today September 13❤

A post shared by Lindaikejiblog (@lindaikejiblogofficial) on Sep 13, 2020 at 10:18am PDT

Mikel Obi

Mikel Obi & his Teammates from Chinese Club, Tianjin Teda Take First Photo With Him

Published

10 years ago

January 11, 2017

Godwin

Super Eagles captain, Mikel Obi recently announced his big move to Chinese club, Tianjin TEDA, where he will reportedly earn £140,000 a week. He had his first friendly match today and shared photos. Interestingly, it looks like he’s the only black player on the team.

Mikel Obi

John Terry describes John Mikel as a Legend as he congratulates him on his new deal with Chinese club

Published

10 years ago

January 6, 2017

Godwin

Mikel signed a new deal with Chinese Super League side Tianjin TEDA FC yesterday January 6th. Chelsea’s Football club captain and Mikel’s former colleague, John Terry, described him as a legend as he congratulated him on his new move.

Mikel Obi

Mikel Obi Releases Statement For Unfair Treatment At Chelsea

Published

10 years ago

November 14, 2016

Godwin

Mikel Obi has debunked the reports that he is being punished by Premier League club Chelsea FC for playing at the 2016 Rio Olympics for Nigeria.

In a statement issued Sunday, the Super Eagles captain said the comments made by Nigeria coach, Gernot Rohr were mistranslated and taken out of context by the media. Rohr had claimed that the 29-year-old footballer is being punished by Chelsea coach, Antonio Conte because he had left pre-season camp to play at the Olympics.

Read his statement below: