Former Nigerian international and Super Eagles captain Mikel Obi has opened up on how he got a death stare from legendary coach, Sir Alex Ferguson, just for opting to join Chelsea instead of Manchester United.
In 2006, it was a big tussle between Manchester United and Chelsea over the signature of Mikel. The Nigerian had even worn the shirt of the Red Devils.
However, the Stamford Bride landlords claimed that they had already agreed on a deal with Mikel and his agents over a move to the London-based club.
As at that time, Sir Alex Ferguson wanted Mikel in his team, but the deal did not work out and he was later forced to sign Brazilian star Anderson.
According to the reports on Complete Sports and Daily Post, Mikel explained that when he later saw Alex Ferguson, the 81-year-old was not happy with him.
“I saw him [Ferguson] one time, it was Manchester United against Chelsea, I was coming out of the dressing room and as I was coming out of the door at the corner he was coming out and I just s*** myself.
“I can’t remember what happened, I think I tripped up on the stairs, he looked at me and he just walked out. He started chewing his gum and just walked out. He did not say a word. It was a death stare. I met him a few times after that and we started talking about it and he forgot about it and forgave me.”
The former Chelsea of England defensive midfielder shared his journey to stardom with some youths who converged at Wave Beach in Lagos during the Vyootopia Mission89 Africa digital sports conference 2022.
Mikel, who had 91 caps and six goals for the Super Eagles, was the ‘personality spotlight’ at the well-attended event, themed – ‘Adopting new technologies in digital sports and increasing opportunities for African youth in the sports industry’, SPORTS BRIEF reports.
