Mikel Obi is a Nigerian footballer who plays for the Chinese Super League,Tianjin TEDA. Mikel Obi started playing football at the age of 12 when he was identified as a talented footballer who to play for the Pepsi Football Academy.
He was chosen from around 3000 others young and talented players. The Pepsi Football Academy at that point in time was known for touring across Nigeria hunting for bright and young footballers who have a dream and talent to play internationally.
Mikel was identified as a great player amongst them and was picked to play for Plateau United one of the top fight club. Obi made the country proud by making the top headlines in the FIFA Under-17 World Championships that was held in Finland. After the tournament, he was on a trail with the Ajax Cape Town but ultimately joined Oslo’s Lyn Football from Norway. Mikel played the FIFA world Youth Championships in Netherlands. The team had an amazing strike up until the final’s where the team lost by 2-1. Mikel won Silver Ball as he was voted the tournament’s second-best player.
Obi Mikel was born on 22nd April 1987, in Jos, Nigeria. His parents Michael Obi runs an inter-state transport company. He was a member of Igbo ethnic group, the name “Nchekwube” means “hope” and the name “Obi” was a nickname for the “Obinna” which means Father’s, heart. The family has kept the Nickname and is known by it.
Mikel Obi Net Worth
Mikel obi had a great career and he is famous for Chelsea’s Midfielder. He has a net worth of $57 million. Obi has been the brand ambassador for Pepsi and Samsung which adds to his net worth. He owns a huge mansion in London. He owns Bentley Continental GT which costs around 35m, Range Rover sport, Mercedes G wagon and Black Mercedes G 500. He is living a dream that every man can only think of.
It is not uncommon for players to be a part of any controversy and Obi Mikel is no different. The player when he turned 18 is known to have signed a direct deal with Premier League club ManU. The deal was made without the involvement of the agent the United’s website makes the claim. The agent was not contacted and a 4 years deal was made with the 18-year-old young player. The agent was informed via mail that their services will no longer be required by the player. The deal in question here was signed for £4 million.
The rival club and another Premier Club ‘Chelsea’ claimed that they have already made a deal with Mikel and his agents which were denied by Lyn. Mikel was seen making a hasty announcement at a press conference where he even held a ManU t-shirt. Following the controversy, there were claims that he is receiving threat calls and he was provided security and also moved to a safer place.
The situation became worse when he went missing from the screen. He was seen during the Norwegian Cup game against Klemetsrud; he was not playing but used to be present at the stadiums. There were claims by Lyn and ManU manager’s that Obi has been kidnapped and Chelsea is behind the kidnapping.
Later it was discovered that Obi has travelled to London on his own. He was accompanied there by John Shittu his agent. After nearly 9 days of his absence Obi stated on Sky Sports News that he did not want to sign the contract with Manchester’s United, he was in fact pressurised to make that deal.
He also added that he wanted to sign Chelsea and not United. United went on to file complaints against Chelsea and Obi for the fraud but the case was ruled out due to insufficient funds. The situation was hanging for months before it was settled out of court with mutual agreement.
While preparing for the 2003 FIFA Under-17 world cup championship, while filing the team the Nigerian Football Association (NFA) accidentally wrote: “Mikel” instead of “Micheal” for the tournament. He ended up keeping the name as he said it has a special ring to it. He even expressed his preference towards Mikel John Obi as compared to John Obi Mikel as he was popularly called.
Credit – thenetworthportal
