Mikel John Obi Biography | Age | wife | Net value
John Michael Nchekwube Obinna (born April 22, 1987), popularly known as Mikel John Obi, is a retired Nigerian former footballer. He is often regarded as one of the most decorated footballers in Nigerian football history. Mikel started his career with the regional team United Plateau before moving to the Norwegian club Lyons in 2004 when he was 17 years old.
He controversially moved to the England squad chelsea in 2006 after Manchester United claimed to have already signed it. He spent 11 years with chelsea before leaving for China in 2017 with TEDA from Tianjin. He spent two years in China before returning to England on a temporary contract with Middlesbrough. In July 2019, he joined Trabzonspor on a free transfer. Mikel joined City of Stoke in August 2020 after returning to England, then moved on to Kuwait SC before announcing his retirement on September 27, 2022. He played 91 times for Nigeria during a 14-year international career, between 2005 and 2019, and scored six goals.
Biography of Mikel John Obi
John Michael Nchekwube Obinna
Mikel John Obi
April 22, 1987
British-Nigerian
Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria
Enugu State, Nigeria
defensive midfielder
Instagram: mikel_john_obi
Twitter: @mikel_john_obi
Youth and education
Mikel was born on April 22, 1987 in Whether, Plateau StateNigeria to Dad Michael Obi and Mrs. Irosu Obi, who runs an interstate transportation company in Jos and is a former public servant. He is originally from Enugu Statein the eastern part of Nigeria.
He did his primary and secondary education in Plateau State, Whetherbut the names of the institutions he attended are unknown.
Career
At the age of 12, Mikel began his professional football career after being selected by more than 3,000 young athletes as a talented player to play for the Pepsi Football Academy. Back then, this team was well known for traveling across Nigeria in search of young footballers with the potential to play professionally.
The scouts noticed Obi and he was chosen to play for United Plateaua top-flight team that had previously produced talent like Celestine Babayaro, Victor Obinaand Chris Obodo, who eventually found success in the European leagues. He rose to prominence after representing Nigeria at the FIFA Under-17 World Championships held in Finland as John Obi Mikel. He then proceeded to a trial in a South African club, Ajax Cape Towneventually joining the Oslo-based club Lyn Soccer in Norway after the competition.
Days after turning 18, it was revealed that Obi had signed for the English Premier League club Manchester United in April 2005. However, controversy surrounded the signing of another English side, Chelsea F.C., claimed to have also signed the player. However, the lawsuit was ultimately decided in favor of Chelsea F.C.who later signed Obi from Lightning Football Oslo for the 2006-2007 season.
In September 2006, Obi made his Chelsea debut against the Bulgarian club Sofia Levsky in a UEFA Champions League meet. From 2006 to 2016, John Obi Mikel spent ten years with the London club Chelsea F.C.making 374 appearances in all competitions and scoring six goals.
Next from Chelsea refusal to renew his contract, John Obi Mikel leaves the English club on a free transfer the next day and joins the Chinese team TEDA from Tianjin. Obi has almost always represented Nigeria in competitions for the past 13 years. In 2016 he won bronze with the Nigeria Dream Team to Rio Olympics, where he served as team captain and showed his leadership abilities by guiding the team through controversy and a lack of national financial support. The Nigerian Super Eagles were commanded by Mikel John Obi, who successfully guided them to qualification for the FIFA World Cup 2018 in Russia.
He also had a brief stint at clubs like Middlesbrough, Trabzonspor, City of Stokeand Kuwait CS before announcing his retirement.
International career
At 2005 FIFA World Youth ChampionshipMikel played for the Nigerian Under-20 team and was awarded the Silver Ball as the tournament’s second-best player (after Lionel Messi) as the mainland team came second behind Argentina.
On 17 August 2005, he made his senior debut for Nigeria, replacing another player in the second half of a 1–0 friendly win over Libya. Before being selected for the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations team, he no longer played for the national team. Mikel did not enter the game when Nigeria faced Ghana in the first round of the group stage. He nevertheless entered the second match against Zimbabwe at the start of the second half.
He was chosen by Nigeria for their preliminary 35-man Olympic squad in 2016, and he was later named team captain. In a 2–0 win over Denmark on August 13, 2016, Mikel scored his first-ever Olympics goal to help his side advance to the semi-finals. Nigeria lost to Germany 2-0 before facing Honduras for the bronze medal. Mikel helped Nigeria beat Honduras 3-2 on August 20 to win the bronze medal. With gold from the 1996 team and silver medals from the 2008 team at the Olympics, Nigeria became the first country to win all three medals.
Mikel attended Victor Moses and scored a goal in a 3-1 Chelsea win over Algeria in a FIFA World Cup 2018 qualifier. Mikel said the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations would be his last competition for Nigeria in July 2019. After the competition, in which Nigeria finished third, he announced his retirement.
Private life
Mikel Obi is currently in a relationship with a Russian beauty, Olga Diyatchenkoand they have beautiful twin daughters together, whose names are Ava and Mia. It is not known if the marriage between the duo has been formalized.
Dare on Sunday, Minister of Youth Sports Developmentappointed Mikel Obi as Youth Ambassador to the President of Nigeria.
Name change
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) submitted”Michael” instead of “Michael” for the 2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship, held in Finland. He said the name had a “unique ringtone”, so he opted to keep it. When he first joined chelseahe was most often referred to as “John Obi Mikel”, but on July 31, 2006, he stated that he preferred the name Mikel John Obi, and he made the change official in 2016.
Kidnapping Saga
Michael ObiMikel’s father, was reportedly abducted in Nigeria on August 12, 2011. Two days later, Mikel was informed before from Chelsea game against City of Stoke, but he decided to play despite his concerns for his father’s safety. On August 15, 2011, Mikel fervently pleaded for the safe return of his father. “I have always tried to serve the country, and now is the time for the country to help me, so please contact me,” he said in a statement. Sky Sports News. On August 22, 2011, Michael Obi was discovered alive in the Nigerian town of Kano. His captors were reportedly in custody.
Mikel was informed of a second abduction of Michael Obi on June 26, 2018, a few hours before a fifa world cup game, but he hid the information from the rest of his team. According to Enugu State Policethey claimed to have saved Michael Obi on July 2 following a shooting.
Honors
chelsea
- Premier League: 2009–10, 2014–15
- FA Cup: 2006–07, 2008–09, 2011–12
- Football League Cup: 2006–07
- FA Community Shield: 2009
- UEFA Champions League: 2011–12
- UEFA Europa League: 2012–13
Trabzonspor
Nigeria
- Africa Cup of Nations: 2013; third place: 2006, 2010, 2019
Olympic Nigeria
- Bronze medalist at the Summer Olympics: 2016
Individual
- 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship Silver Ball
- CAF Most Promising Talent of the Year: 2005
- Chelsea Young Player of the Year: 2007, 2008
- CAF Team of the Year: 2005, 2013.
- Africa Cup of Nations Team of the Tournament: 2013
- Finalist for African Footballer of the Year: 2013
Net value
He has an estimated net worth of $10 million.
Social media handles
Instagram: mikel_john_obi
Twitter: @mikel_john_obi
