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Chelsea have fiercely denied claims they have paid money to entice John Obi Mikel, the talented Nigerian teenager at the centre of a sensational transfer chase, to sign for them and snub Manchester United.
Chelsea have fiercely denied claims they have paid money to entice John Obi Mikel, the talented Nigerian teenager at the centre of a sensational transfer chase, to sign for them and snub Manchester United.
United have asked the FA Premier League to investigate the transfer of the youngster from Lyn Oslo, his club in Norway, where he is said to have been studying since last August, believing they have a valid contract signed by him. But Mikel, having fled to London after receiving death threats as a result of the transfer furore, has said he was forced to sign for United and apparently wants to play for Chelsea
Wherever the truth lies, Mikel, who was born in Jos, northern Nigeria, where his father is in the transportation business, has come into some money. His talents have allowed him to cash in and move his family from their modest home to a bigger house in a more affluent part of Jos and, before he left for Norway, he bought Mercedes for both himself and his father, Michael Obi.
Speaking from the family home, Michael claimed to have been paid to persuade his son to join Chelsea and also said that John has received a large sum. When asked about Michael's claim, Chelsea's director of communications Simon Greenberg said: ‘Chelsea did not make any payments whatsoever. No money has gone from Chelsea to him or his father.
However, Mikel's father claimed he was given the money about a year ago. He said he did not know if his son had been given a rumoured £80,000 from Chelsea. Under Fifa rules, any payment to an African player under 18 - Mikel has just turned 18 - is illegal
Chelsea are furious that United appear to have signed Mikel, one of the most highly rated young players in the world. As revealed in The Observer last week, Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich was unhappy and is believed to have intervened.
The story grew during the week, with several parties asserting a claim, among them the disgraced Norwegian football agent Rune Hauge; Jerome Anderson, chief executive and founder of sports agents SEM; the Nigerian John Shittu, who works for Anderson and who has been with Mikel for the past week; Daniel Fletcher, another agent who claims to have held a contract to represent Mikel since last year and is considering legal action; and the Pepsi Academy of Lagos, where Mikel learnt his football. United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, desperate to secure the player, was even going to fly to Norway before discovering Mikel was in London.
Early last week, Mikel's father, a captain of Jos Bukuru in the 1950s, claimed his family were paid £4,000 through a representative to sign for Chelsea, but then he alleged United came knocking at the door. ‘United went to my son in Norway and pressured him. I do not like this. I have not even met anyone from Manchester United, unlike Chelsea,' he told Observer Sport . Chelsea deny any direct contact with Mikel's father, saying whoever met him may have been claiming to be acting on behalf of Chelsea.
The mystery surrounding the world's most sought-after teenager intensified last Wednesday, when Mikel was reported ‘missing' by Lyn, who hold his registration until January. Having been moved to a ‘safe hotel' with a security guard after the death threats, the midfielder ‘disappeared' during the second half of Lyn's 3-1 cup win away to Klemetsrud. He had been asked not to leave but was then seen in a car with Shittu and when Lyn could not locate him, the police were informed and United called the Premier League.
There are also doubts over how much time Mikel spent at his school in Oslo, Norges Toppidrettsgymnas (NTG). It has been said that Mikel, along with his countrymen, Chinedu Obasi Ogbuke, Ezekiel Bala and Emmanuel Sarki, who were placed there in August by Hauge, attended only for lunch and to play football. Norway has become a common first point of call for many African players wanting to break into the big time in Europe.
The country's immigration laws are such that it is relatively easy for them to move there in the hope of being noticed by a club in England, Italy or Spain. Indeed, reports in the Norwegian press have accused NTG - whose director of football Rolf-Magne Walstad said'we want to be an internationally orientated school' - of accepting ££170,000 to take the players so they could then be sold. Headmaster Arild Stromnes said: ‘We have never received a penny.' Stromnes said he knew nothing of any payment until it was reported in Aftenposten and added, ‘I really hope that we haven't been used. That would be really bitter.'
It is clear Mikel is a young man in demand, not least because of the riches on offer to him and his representatives. And the omens do not appear to be good for United if Shittu is to be believed. ‘As far as we are concerned, John does not have a contract with United,' he said.