Mikel: I chose Chelsea over United to change lives

John Obi Mikel has revealed the selfless reason he rejected Chelsea in favour of signing for Manchester United.

Sir Alex Ferguson thought he had snapped up the Nigerian in 2006, with Mikel even being pictured in a Red Devils shirt.

Fergie ended up in a battle with Blues boss Jose Mourinho over the prodigy’s signature.

The incredible saga ended only when Chelsea paid the Old Trafford side a huge £12million in compensation.

But now, writing in the Players’ Tribune, Mikel, 31, revealed he made the switch to help the three other Nigerians already at Chelsea depending on him to live.

He said: “I know what you’re thinking.

“So before I tell you my story, let’s just get that bit out of the way first. It’s been more than a decade and I still get asked this one thing about my time in England.

“‘Hey, what happened to you signing for Manchester United? How come you swapped for Chelsea at the last minute?’ Every time.

“I’ll tell you what happened. I had all these people on both sides fighting over me. Agents, managers, strangers, guys handing me papers. I had Sir Alex Ferguson calling me on the phone on one side.

“And I had Roman Abramovich on the other side, putting me up in London, hiding me somewhere where only a few people knew where I was. It was really confusing, and I was a kid, you know?

“After a while, someone from FIFA gave me a phone call. They said, ‘Listen, we know you’re young and you have these two clubs fighting over you. We can’t decide for you. You can only go where you want. You have to tell us’.

“I thought about it for a long time. It was the biggest decision of my life.

“You know what made my mind up? Chelsea had signed three other players from Nigeria along with me. They were staying with me at the house in London to keep me company.

“These guys… their lives depended on the decision I was making. If I went to United, they were gone. If I went to Chelsea, they were going to have a career.

“No matter how long it lasted, that was important to me. Just to give them a chance, you know?

“I chose Chelsea, and four lives changed that day.”