Former Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel has announced his retirement from the sport at the age of 35. Last year, he terminated his contract with Stoke City and then shifted his base to Kuwait SC. His deal with Kuwait SC came to an abrupt end after only 4 months of joining the club.
The veteran announced his retirement from professional football on September 27. He played for the Nigeria U-20 team at the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship where he made his presence count on the football turf.
He controlled the game very well and even went on to win the Silver Ball for the second-best player at the tournament, only behind football icon Lionel Messi. Mikel operated as a defensive midfielder for Chelsea Football Club in 249 appearances (2006 to 2017) where he scored one goal to his name.
John Obi Mikel retires from professional football
Overall, John Obi has played 362 games at the senior level, scoring six goals to his name. During the 2012-13 season, he was on the shortlist for the African Footballer of the Year besides Chelsea legend Didier Drogba.
As far as his international career is concerned, he represented Nigeria national team between 2005 and 2019. He made 91 appearances for Nigeria in his 14-year-career, scoring 6 goals to his name.
He kick-started his football career with the local club Plateau United. After that, he joined Norwegian club Lyn when he was 17 years old. In 2006, he struck a deal with English football club, Chelsea where he operated as a defensive midfielder for more than a decade.
After serving for 11 years for the Blues, he bid adieu to the club and then moved to China with Tianjin TEDA in 2017. After playing for two years in China, he then made up his mind to return to England. He also struck a short-term agreement with Middlesbrough, before joining Trabzonspor club on a free transfer in 2019. He then joined Stoke City in the subsequent year.
Twitter Reacts:
Happy retirement Mikel,thank you for all you have done…
— Emmanuel Tochukwu (@emmalex2nice) September 27, 2022
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Happy retirement Big brother ✊. You are a football legend 🇳🇬
— Nnaemeka Kingsley (@Kings_orlando1) September 27, 2022
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HE WILL BE A GOOD COACH. HE SPENT HIS ENTIRE CAREER ON THE BENCH NEXT TO THE COACH
— chemulo (@chemulo_pundit) September 27, 2022
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Shame he never got to play for a good club
— Tim Partey (@CaptainBigNob) September 27, 2022
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He rejected chelsea 😭😭😭😭
— 🇪🇸 (@AbdeGOAT) September 27, 2022
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The best and the most decorated Nigerian in the game of football.
Happy retirement legend— Akp_johnson (@akposjohnson100) September 27, 2022
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Legend
Better than your current assistant captain in that position— ALONE (@owolabiadesh) September 27, 2022
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Thanks@John Mikel Obi.. your service to Nigeria is in gold.. happy retirement.
— Femi God's power (@power_femi) September 27, 2022
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