Posted by By CHIMAOBI UCHENDU on
As it is almost certain that John Mikel Obi would now be compelled to honour FIFA's verdict by going back to his Norwagian club, FC Lyn of Oslo, which may also influence his move to Manchester United, the Nigerian player said he was not afraid to pitch tent with the like of Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo in the Premiership.
As it is almost certain that John Mikel Obi would now be compelled to honour FIFA's verdict by going back to his Norwagian club, FC Lyn of Oslo, which may also influence his move to Manchester United, the Nigerian player said he was not afraid to pitch tent with the like of Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo in the Premiership.
In a recent interview with Ralph Chidozie, Mikel said he was ready to honour the controversial contract he signed with Sir Alex Ferguson's club, before going to the FIFA World Youth Championship.
The Nigerian player had earlier visited the youth club of Manchester United and Chelsea camp before the proposed move, but his club played a fast one on his agent by selling him out ahead of time.
Sharing his experience on Manchester United camp, he said: "It was nice when I went there, everybody welcomed me and I stayed there for over two months, the manager was very nice to me. After that I went back to Nigeria and then I went to Chelsea and stayed there for almost a year and things did not work out and I had to go to Manchester United again."
On how he was contacted for the move, he said: "Well, Man U officials have been visiting me secretly in Oslo and nobody knew about it, they kept asking me if I was still interested in Chelsea and, kept presurising me and won my heart over Chelsea, and then everything happened so fast after that.0
'Everything went that way due to the fact that Chelsea officials didn't come on time for the deal.
"Yeah, that's the way it went, many agents are in touch with me and there is no one that has a complete hold of me, that's why it happened that way. But I am happy the way the transfer was handled, despite the fact that Chelsea will be hurt."
On whether he would have opted for Chelsea if they had come for him earlier, he said: "Aahhh, well, maybe, just maybe. Chelsea is also a big club with big money and any player would love to play for them, and they just won the Premiership, which is any player's dream but all the same, I am happy with my deal with Manchester United."
Before now, Mikel had planned to stay at Lyn pending the time of his proposed move to the Premiership.
"I was told to wait and play with Lyn, instead of moving immediately and training without a game, the rest of the season in Norway will help me get more experience and maturity, while watching Manchester United games. That's why Man U officials told me to remain at Lyn Oslo, that is no problem, I am happy that I have to be here for this season and may be by December I will move and start playing for Manchester in January."
On whether he's afraid of Stars like Roy Keane, Ruud van Nistelroy, Ryan Giggs, Wayne Rooney, he said: "To play with such world stars like that, I am very happy to be with them and it's going to be fine. I hope to learn from them," he emphasises.