Antonio Conte arrived at Chelsea, in the summer of 2016, same summer Olympics was held in Rio, Brazil. The gaffer arrived with some changes.
John Obi Mikel was listed among the three overaged players to feature for the Nigerian national team, which did not seem to sit well with Antonio Conte. He gave Mikel options, either to go and never be a part of his team or just stay with the team. This does not sit well with Mikel, either. He contacted the board at Chelsea, to express his desire to join the Nigerian 'Dream Team' for the Olympics, which the hierarchy gave a nod to.
Mikel, who later went to Rio, captained the Nigerian side to win the Bronze medal. The team defeated Honduras 3-2 in the bronze medal match.
On his return to London, Mikel revealed he was forced to train alone for months and was left out of the matchday squad for a better part of the first half of the season.
"I spoke to the club and told them that I wanted to go. The club respected me because of what I had done for them and how long I’d been there.
"So off I went and I felt punished for that. I came back and I didn’t make the squad. I was never on the squad list on matchdays again.
“The funny thing is, just before the January window was going to start, he came up to me and said ‘I want a meeting with you’.
“This was after making me train on my own for months, treating a player who had been at Chelsea for a long time like this!
“When he tried to meet with me he was like, ‘Let’s try and makeup, I will need you in the team, let’s squash this, blah, blah, blah!’.
"I was like, ‘Are you joking?! Are you f****** serious?!’ He knew I wanted out. I stood up and walked out of the room. You can’t disrespect a human being like that.”
John Mikel Obi, who had spent 11 years at the London club and helping them to win several trophies was ousted by the Italian coach for wanting to represent his national team at an international tournament. He left Chelsea for the Chinese side, Tianjin TEDA in January 2017. He retired from the national team in 2019, to focus on club football.
The 33-years old Nigerian currently plies his trade with Stoke City, in England, where he seems to have found form again.
John Obi Mikel was listed among the three overaged players to feature for the Nigerian national team, which did not seem to sit well with Antonio Conte. He gave Mikel options, either to go and never be a part of his team or just stay with the team. This does not sit well with Mikel, either. He contacted the board at Chelsea, to express his desire to join the Nigerian 'Dream Team' for the Olympics, which the hierarchy gave a nod to.
Mikel, who later went to Rio, captained the Nigerian side to win the Bronze medal. The team defeated Honduras 3-2 in the bronze medal match.
On his return to London, Mikel revealed he was forced to train alone for months and was left out of the matchday squad for a better part of the first half of the season.
"I spoke to the club and told them that I wanted to go. The club respected me because of what I had done for them and how long I’d been there.
"So off I went and I felt punished for that. I came back and I didn’t make the squad. I was never on the squad list on matchdays again.
“The funny thing is, just before the January window was going to start, he came up to me and said ‘I want a meeting with you’.
“This was after making me train on my own for months, treating a player who had been at Chelsea for a long time like this!
“When he tried to meet with me he was like, ‘Let’s try and makeup, I will need you in the team, let’s squash this, blah, blah, blah!’.
"I was like, ‘Are you joking?! Are you f****** serious?!’ He knew I wanted out. I stood up and walked out of the room. You can’t disrespect a human being like that.”
John Mikel Obi, who had spent 11 years at the London club and helping them to win several trophies was ousted by the Italian coach for wanting to represent his national team at an international tournament. He left Chelsea for the Chinese side, Tianjin TEDA in January 2017. He retired from the national team in 2019, to focus on club football.
The 33-years old Nigerian currently plies his trade with Stoke City, in England, where he seems to have found form again.