Jon Obi Mike....Man U or Chelsea

PHB

He has been ordered to return to Lyn, which he hasn't done yet afaik, and inturn will be complained to FIFA about.
Man United have paid 4 million sterling afaik for him, and there is no way they are going to let this transfer go without a fight, they seem to really rate him.
IT has been reported to FIFA, and FIFA are in the process of making a decision

SteM

http://allafrica.com/stories/200507040175.html

Obi Faces FIFA Officials Today

July 4, 2005
Posted to the web July 4, 2005

Lagos

FIFA is expecting Nigeria's John Mikel Obi to explain his role in the transfer dispute between Chelsea and Manchester United today.

Obi is at the centre of an astonishing tug-of-war between the two English Premiership sides.
Subscribe to AllAfrica

The 18-year-old signed a contract to join United from Norwegian side Lyn Oslo in April but has since claimed that he was made to sign the deal against his will.

He has since indicated his desire to play for Chelsea instead.

Andreas Herren, head of FIFA's media department, said the row - prompted by a report from United and Norwegian club Lyn Oslo - is far from being settled.

"We are waiting for the player's position on 4 July," Herren told BBC Sport.

"No decision is likely to come in the near future, at least as long as we do not have the player's statement on this matter."

Obi, whose impressive performance at the World Youth Championship in Holland landed the Flying Eagles a second silver medal 16 years after Saudi'89, and himself being voted the second best player of the tournament behind Lionel Messi of champions Argentina, is expected to meet the FIFA officials today before departing Holland.

Meanwhile, Obi has revealed that he wants to dump Manchester United and join Chelsea because he feels the city of Manchester is boring.

"Mikel (Obi) is adamant that he wants to move to Chelsea," a close pal of the former Plateau United star who is also in the junior Eagles team in Holland told NIGERIASPORTSONLINE.COM.

"He told me that nothing will ever make him play for Manchester United, not even FIFA.

"On our way to training before Saturday's final I tried to sample his mind on his choice of club as regards the summoning by FIFA.

"And he was so confident and vocal in telling me that it is Chelsea or no England at all for him. He said the city of Manchester is not bubbling at all.

"That the city is too boring and that staying and playing there is like one staying in Jos.

"Mikel Obi also told me that besides the dull and boring city of Manchester, the club, Manchester United, could not match the money Chelsea offered him."

************************************

Looking forward to seeing this lad warming Chelsea's bench over the next few years, esp if they sign Gerrard.

PHB

Sure FIFA are gona let him out of his contract for that

I still think this guy is being influenced by someone, and after a week in Carrington he'll be fine

growler

tbh I wouldn't be at all surprised if this was the real reason for his change of heart , probably had a great nite out in London and a cold night in Manchester and decided cfc for him , he's only a kid after all.

(if you ignore the russian mafia conspiracy theories that is)

SteM

Maybe but what was all the talk of being forced into signing with United about then?

PHB

Doesn't matter if hes only 18, his contract is legally binding.
The only way out is if he can show he was forced into a contract with Man United, which is very difficult to do.

The fact that he wants to play for Chelsea is kinda irrelevant to the contract situation.
He is costing United 6.75 million, so if Chelsea want to buy him I'd imagine United would demand like 10 million or something. Which Chelsea I very much doubt would pay.
Mikel will go, omg, ****e, Chelsea don't want me, and then after a week in Carrington he'll be United through and through.

Chelsea bought off SPurs, but they couldnt do anythign like that with Arsenal and won't do anything like that with Man United.
If FIFA rule in favour of Chelsea, and the contract is breached, this will be going to the European court of appeals I'd imagine.
This won't be solved for liek ayear

masterK

I think it's fairly obvious what has happened here. He was more than happy to sign for United and did so of his own free will, but afterwards Chelsea told him they would pay him a lot more and suddenly he wanted to go to Chelsea.

His agents pushed him towards Chelsea as they would earn more. At the end of the day it comes down to one thing, Greed, on his part and that of his agents.

There is no way he was forced to sign for United, it was only when he knew how much he could make at Chelsea that he decided he wasn't going to united.

MooShop

PHB wrote:

Doesn't matter if hes only 18, his contract is legally binding.
The only way out is if he can show he was forced into a contract with Man United, which is very difficult to do.

The fact that he wants to play for Chelsea is kinda irrelevant to the contract situation.
He is costing United 6.75 million, so if Chelsea want to buy him I'd imagine United would demand like 10 million or something. Which Chelsea I very much doubt would pay.
Mikel will go, omg, ****e, Chelsea don't want me, and then after a week in Carrington he'll be United through and through.

Chelsea bought off SPurs, but they couldnt do anythign like that with Arsenal and won't do anything like that with Man United.
If FIFA rule in favour of Chelsea, and the contract is breached, this will be going to the European court of appeals I'd imagine.
This won't be solved for liek ayear

yeah totally agree with you PHB, he should be a United player and if FIFA rule against this, it will be in court for years, and contract's wont be worth anything whats the point in having contract's if they can be overturned or cancelled by FIFA even though i cant see FIFA rule in favour of Chelsea. Legally he is a United player and that should be the end of it

SteM

Times reckon Mikel going to Chelsea (via www.rednews.co.uk)
Tuesday, July 12, 2005

'MANCHESTER UNITED are all but resigned to losing out to Chelsea in the battle to sign John Obi Mikel, the prodigious Nigerian teenager at the centre of one of the most vicious transfer wrangles in football history. Sir Alex Ferguson celebrated a coup in April when he announced that he had signed the 18-year-old in a deal thought to be worth more than £4 million, but with the matter under investigation by Fifa, football’s world governing body, it seems that he will have to suffer the indignity of submitting to Chelsea once more.

United have given evidence to Fifa to assist in its investigation into the matter, but while they maintain that they have done nothing wrong in pursuit of the youngster, there is a growing acceptance at Old Trafford that Mikel has been seduced by the riches offered by Chelsea. Although United deny bitterly his claims that he was forced to sign for them against his wishes — and, furthermore, are angry that he has been poisoned against them by John ****tu, his Nigerian agent — they believe that there is little they can do to prevent Mikel joining Chelsea.

Fifa indicated last night that it will not make any decision on Mikel’s future until it has received advice from its legal department, but it seems increasingly certain that he is heading for Stamford Bridge. The youngster may have to give evidence as part of the investigation and with United aware that he is likely to state his preference for joining Chelsea, Fifa is unlikely to force him to move to Old Trafford against his wishes.

For the past two months, United have contested ****tu’s claims that their agreement with Mikel and his Norwegian club, Lyn Oslo, was reached by illegal means. They maintain that their conduct has been impeccable and that it is the behaviour of ****tu, with whom Chelsea have negotiated, that warrants investigation. Their belief is that things changed between Mikel “signing” for United, saying it was “totally fantastic” to do so and his subsequent disappearance in Oslo, when, after a police investigation, he was found with ****tu in a nearby wood and later turned up in London, professing his desire to join Chelsea.

United also have the backing of Lyn, with whom they have signed a contract, but the Norwegian club’s conduct in negotiations — and particularly that of Morgan Andersen, their sporting director — has been questioned by ****tu, who yesterday offered to tell all in a public debate on Norwegian television.

“So far it has just been a soap opera, but we will now see the big movie. It should be on Norwegian television to let everyone see the truth,” he said, casting doubt on Andersen’s version of events. “We will reveal everything.”

PHB

That article has nothing whatsoever new, no sources quoted, no made up sources even, no qoutes, no nothing.
It's just a guess.

p.s. For anyone who wants to learn about this transfer look her:
http://www.unitedrant.co.uk/archives/2005/05/chelski_mafia_s_1.html

Thats why I'm so sure he'll be a happy united player after one week at Carrington

SteM

It's the writers opinion - think it's Oliver Kay in the Times and I think he's spot on this time. I always thought that once Chelsea got involved that he'd end up there, but we'll see. I'd find it hard to believe that FIFA will force someone that young to go to a club that he doesn't seem to want to go to anymore. Whether that means that he has to go back to Lyn or whatever, I just don't think he'll just be handed over to United.

TheMonster

If United have done everything above board they have to get the player. FIFA cannot rule otherwise(without a legal battle ensuing) - if the player doesn't want to join thats a different matter and whether United will force him to sign is unlikely - but Chelsea can buy him from us if they want him. Hopefully Chelsea wil be fined and a transfer ban imposed, unlikely but one can alway hope.

PHB

Mikel has said that Chelsea were funding him and his family for two years in public.
This is an offense, and is punishable by a fine and possible point deduction.
There is no way to get out of that

The Clown Man

"The Chelski Mafia with their ill-gotten oil swag stolen from the people of Russia"

That's where I stopped reading that sh]te. I thought that it may have been an article based on facts and I could get a good idea of both sides.

Ah well.

SteM

The Clown Man wrote:

"The Chelski Mafia with their ill-gotten oil swag stolen from the people of Russia"

That's where I stopped reading that sh]te. I thought that it may have been an article based on facts and I could get a good idea of both sides.

Ah well.

Yeah, I'd read it before and it's not exactly unbiased - but then the site is called unitedrant.co.uk so....

@TheMonster - I'm not suggesting that United did anything wrong but if Lyn or their representatives did then I would imagine then transfer could definitely be called into question.

Jivin Turkey

PHB wrote:

Mikel has said that Chelsea were funding him and his family for two years in public.
This is an offense, and is punishable by a fine and possible point deduction.
There is no way to get out of that

Any links to these quotes?

TheMonster

SteM wrote:

@TheMonster - I'm not suggesting that United did anything wrong but if Lyn or their representatives did then I would imagine then transfer could definitely be called into question.

Agreed - but I didn't think there was any suggestion of them doing anything wrong (could be worng) - surely the player plays with them so they hold the registration and can sell him.

PHB

The site is totally biased, but read on and look at the quotes he has from Mikel.
e.g.

2003: Mikel is spoted by United scouts and trains with the first team squad
August 2004: Mikel joins Lyn Oslo on a youth contract
2004/5: Mikel again trains with United
2005: Chelsea pay £190k to TNG through Rune Hauge; Mikel and
three other Nigerians join
2004/5: Mikel also trains with Chelsea while 'studying' at TNG school in Oslo
April 22nd 2005: Mikel turns 18 and signs a pro contract with Lyn
April 22n-28th: Lyn cancel contracts signed by Mikel as a minor
April 22nd-28th 2005: Chelsea enter negotiations for Mikel; the bid is turned
down by Lyn amid accusations of "arrogance" on Chelsea's part
April 22nd-28th 2005: United make bid for Mikel, which is accepted
April 29th 2005: Mikel signs a professional contract with United; a beaming
player is interviewed on TV, complete with number 21 United shirt
April 30th-May 10th: Mikel receives death threats
May 10th: Mikel states on Norwegian TV that he is "delighted with United move"
May 10th: Mikel is taken by ****tu to a hotel; Lyn call the police
May 11th: Mikel states that he no longer wants to join United and that
he'd been "forced into signing a contract" against his will
May 12th: Mikel flies into London where he remains

Even if you ignore the part in bold, there is still a huge huge problem with that timeline, and something does not add up.

---

Jivin, don't actually remember where I read them, but I remember reading them.
If I pop across em again I'll post em.

Headshot

what team is he going to for **** sake

bloody chelsea

Headshot

any news on JON Obi Mike

PHB

No, FIFA are still investigating

Necronomicon

I thought they were supposed to have reached a verdict by now. Shoddy Chelsea.....can't stand that judas weasel K**yon.

PHB

FIFA are expected to order Flying Eagles’ star, John Mikel Obi to honour the agreement he signed with Lyn Club of Oslo, the chief executive of the Norwegian outfit, Morgan Anderson has told Sports Vanguard.

Obi, who shone like a thousand stars at the last World Youth Championship and was subsequently adjudged the tourney’s second Most Valuable Player, has been enmeshed in a messy transfer deal, involving three clubs, Manchester United, Chelsea and his current club, Lyn of Oslo.

Although it was reported that he signed a contract to move to Premiership giants, Manchester United, the young Nigerian claimed he was coerced into the deal by Anderson, insisting that he rather preferred to star in Roman Abrahamovic’s billionaires side, Chelsea.
The matter was referred to the FIFA’s Dispute Resolution Committee, which met earlier this month and is today expected to give its verdict on the raging transfer saga.

In a rare telephone interview with Sports Vanguard, Anderson said the club presented a strong case backed with documented and television evidences to FIFA, arguing that the club did not coerce Obi to sign for Manchester United, insisting further, that the Nigerian was quite enthusiastic to sign for the club.

“We have presented a strong case with materials to FIFA and we have confirmation that the contract is valid and legal. We are confident that FIFA will tell Mikel to honour the contract he signed with us and Manchester United, who are supposed to start playing Mikel in January 2006, when he is expected to get his work permit under the exceptional talent rule We believe that Mikel will be told to return to Lyn because he has an existing contract with us and the people here are glad to have him back when he comes.

“If we look at the legality of the contract, Mikel goes to Manchester. Although he has a contract with us till 2006, Mikel never did love to go to Manchester United and he got his wish, with a fantastic salary, backed with the fact that he would get a starting place in the team because of the special talent rule, which Manchester told the FA they used in securing Mikel’s signature.

“So it's totally untrue for insinuations to be made that I forced Mikel to sign the Manchester deal because any player would love to play for the richest club in the world. Rather, I believe that it is the influence of the agent or agents who say they are representing the player that confused the boy into not honouring his contract with us”, added Anderson, who denied ever exploiting the young boy.

“We never exploited Mikel, rather, we gave him everything that he wanted. We even gave him a brand new Audi A4 car to ease his movement alongside the other Nigerians in our team. Our team has excellent relationship with the players and we want the best for them As things stand now, we are awaiting Mikel’s return because as an exceptional player, we know his presence in our squad would boost our chances of winning the league, which is in its second stanza”, Anderson said.
On how to forestall a possible transfer saga involving young Africans in the future, Anderson said the players’ union must curb the influence which agents wield over players’ parents, who in turn, coerce their unassuming kids into signing multiple contracts with different agents, who he said, are only out for their personal gains.
“Even available evidence shows that the contract Mikel singed with the other agent would see the latter taking home the chunk of the player’s salary. The challenge for the players’ union is to ensure that young Africans are tutored on the need to stick to an agent and the dictates of their contract. It pains to see a gifted player like Mikel involved in this mess but we hope things would be resolved for the good of the game and player”, added Anderson.

I've heard from multiple sources inside United and from Lyn based sources that the hearing is going incredibly well for United, and incredibly badly for the agent and Chelsea. Nice to see

SteM

Obi, who shone like a thousand stars at the last World Youth Championship

That's fantastic journalism.

Still can't see him ending up at United though. If he doesn't want to play for us what can you do? You've got to let him move to Chelsea. Of course, I don't have multiple sources at United or in Norway.

PHB

He has been sent back to Lyn, for definate.
Whether his contract will hold up with United is tbd.

Nigerian teenager John Obi Mikel has been told to return to Norway to fulfil his contract duties with Lyn Oslo.

Fifa have been investigating the complex situation of Mikel, after Manchester United announced a deal for the midfielder in April.

The Red Devils signed contracts with both Lyn and Mikel for the 18-year-old to move to Old Trafford in the New Year.

Almost immediately after the transfer was announced, Mikel headed out of Norway, claiming he was bullied into signing for United.

He then stressed a desire to join Chelsea, which prompted Lyn to lodge a complaint to Fifa against the Premiership champions and agents John ****tu and Rune Hauge.

Football's governing body have now completed their probe into the issue and have ordered Mikel to return to Lyn.

"By not resuming duties with his club after having represented his Under-20 national team in the Fifa World Youth Championship, John Obi Mikel has failed to perform his contractual obligations and, therefore, has committed contractual breach," read a statement on behalf of Fifa's Dispute Resolution Chamber.

"It has also been noted that John Obi Mikel has been duly granted the visa and work permit required.

"It has, therefore, been decided that John Obi Mikel must immediately resume duties with Lyn Oslo FC in accordance with the employment contract concluded on April 22, 2005.

"Should the player fail to return to his club in Norway, the case will be submitted to the next meeting of the Chamber in order for it to take the appropriate action."

Though Mikel has been ordered to link up with Lyn again, it is still unclear whether he will be joining United in January as had previously been arranged.

Stem, if he honastly doesn't want to play for United after a week at Carrington, thats fine. Sell him to Chelsea, they can pay 10 million for him, fine my be. We paid 6 apparently.

But, there is no way we should let them get him without paying us in some way, and I know Gill won't let that happen.
I honastly don't understand how a player can be so happy to sign for us, and then be so sad about it and claim that he was forced into it, without some outside influence. I think once he gets into United he will be a happy player.

~Rebel~

Its the craziest football story i've seen in a while (maybe ever!) and theres no way in hell he'll get to just walk away from his united contract. If that was the case, any player in the world could sign for one team then just say "nah, the nightlife in barcelona is better, im off there instead!". Fifa have to make an example here and make sure this type of thing doesn't happen. If United do end up with an unhappy player, then im sure it will be dealt with in the same way these things are always dealt with. He'll hand in a transfer request and hope a big team he likes (obviously chelsea in this case) will come in for him, just like young bentley has just done over at arsenal.

gsand

Does that statement not indicate that he has to run out his total current contract therefore he can leave on a bosman?

I duno that statement really dosnt tell us anything.

Necronomicon

~Rebel~ wrote:

Its the craziest football story i've seen in a while (maybe ever!) and theres no way in hell he'll get to just walk away from his united contract. If that was the case, any player in the world could sign for one team then just say "nah, the nightlife in barcelona is better, im off there instead!".

Exactly, it would set a dangerous precident. If Mikel is told to go to United and he isn't happy, then by all means let him go to Chelsea, but surely by breaking the contract United should get substantial compensation.

Aquos76

Alex Ferguson gives his views on this here and ITV also cover it.

The Muppet

John Mikel Obi: "I want to dine with DEVILS"

As it is almost certain that John Mikel Obi would now be compelled to honour FIFA’s verdict by going back to his Norwagian club, FC Lyn of Oslo, which may also influence his move to Manchester United, the Nigerian player said he was not afraid to pitch tent with the like of Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo in the Premiership.

In a recent interview with Ralph Chidozie, Mikel said he was ready to honour the controversial contract he signed with Sir Alex Ferguson’s club, before going to the FIFA World Youth Championship.

The Nigerian player had earlier visited the youth club of Manchester United and Chelsea camp before the proposed move, but his club played a fast one on his agent by selling him out ahead of time.

Sharing his experience on Manchester United camp, he said: "It was nice when I went there, everybody welcomed me and I stayed there for over two months, the manager was very nice to me. After that I went back to Nigeria and then I went to Chelsea and stayed there for almost a year and things did not work out and I had to go to Manchester United again."

On how he was contacted for the move, he said: "Well, Man U officials have been visiting me secretly in Oslo and nobody knew about it, they kept asking me if I was still interested in Chelsea and, kept presurising me and won my heart over Chelsea, and then everything happened so fast after that.0
“Everything went that way due to the fact that Chelsea officials didn’t come on time for the deal.

"Yeah, that’s the way it went, many agents are in touch with me and there is no one that has a complete hold of me, that’s why it happened that way. But I am happy the way the transfer was handled, despite the fact that Chelsea will be hurt.”

On whether he would have opted for Chelsea if they had come for him earlier, he said: "Aahhh, well, maybe, just maybe. Chelsea is also a big club with big money and any player would love to play for them, and they just won the Premiership, which is any player’s dream but all the same, I am happy with my deal with Manchester United.”
Before now, Mikel had planned to stay at Lyn pending the time of his proposed move to the Premiership.

"I was told to wait and play with Lyn, instead of moving immediately and training without a game, the rest of the season in Norway will help me get more experience and maturity, while watching Manchester United games. That’s why Man U officials told me to remain at Lyn Oslo, that is no problem, I am happy that I have to be here for this season and may be by December I will move and start playing for Manchester in January.”

On whether he’s afraid of Stars like Roy Keane, Ruud van Nistelroy, Ryan Giggs, Wayne Rooney, he said: "To play with such world stars like that, I am very happy to be with them and it’s going to be fine. I hope to learn from them," he emphasises.

source

If the report above is true It looks like he has resigned himself to joining United and honouring his contract. I'm not sure what sort of reception he will get from the fans initally but there is a cetain satisfaction to the feeling of having got one over on Kenyon and Co.

PHB

I for one say woohoo!

Guy:Incognito

PHB wrote:

I for one say woohoo!

Does it not worry/annoy you that he said he didnt want to play for Utd and that he was basically forced against his will to sign?

PHB

No, not at all.
Although I have heard reports that this stry is just a re hashed interview from before the troubles, I fully expect him to be a dedicated United player after two weeks at Carrington.
The guy is akid, younger than I am, and I think he has been forced into stuff by his agents, and the sooner he is in the united camp and protected the better.

SteM

Amazing how this news comes from him just after Chelsea have signed Essien :rolleyes:

RedorDead

As PHB said - its just a rehashed story. In fairness to him. Why would he want to go to chelsea with essien, lampard and makele there?

http://nigeriasports.com/2302

That's the original interview with some radio station - dated May 2005.


http://www.soccerphile.com/soccerph...-obi-mikel.html

evad_lhorg

so he's joining United?

is he a midfielder?

I wonder if essiens move had anything to do with it!

Necronomicon

A couple of training sessions with United and he'll be wondering why he ever had to consider it
The whole thing was a bit ridiculous, but hopefully it's all sorted now.

SteM

Looks like a visa issue is stopping Obi returning to Norway at the moment...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/africa/4187288.stm

Lyn demands Fifa action on Obi
By Osasu Obayiuwana


Norwegian club Lyn Oslo have lodged a further complaint with Fifa, football's governing body, over the failure of Nigeria midfielder John Mikel Obi to return to the club.

The 18-year-old, who helped Nigeria to the silver medal at the World Youth Championship in Holland, was ordered by Fifa to "immediately" resume his career with Lyn, after absenting himself from work for several months.

This followed an earlier protest filed with Fifa by Lyn, after Obi claimed in May that the Norwegian club forced him to sign a contract with Manchester United, even though he wants to play for English champions Chelsea.

Morgen Anderson, Lyn's Sporting Director, claimed Obi was supposed to have returned to the club on Thursday but failed to turn up.

"We are surprised that he is not back with us and there is no excuse for him not to be back," Anderson told BBC Sport on Friday.

"The [Norwegian] embassy [in Nigeria] has given him all the needed paperwork for him to be able to return.

"Although his lawyer said he would be back on Thursday, they have now said that he would probably be back sometime next week."

Anderson said Fifa must take active steps to enforce its ruling if their orders are to be respected by the football community.

"We sent a letter to Fifa yesterday and another one, attaching the correspondence from Mikel's lawyer.

"They must take matters into their own hands or a club like us will have no power at all [to do anything to resolve the situation].


"[The failure to obey the ruling] must have implications for the agent, the country and the player.

"The Nigeria FA had the responsiblity to send him back, after their game against Libya, but they did not do so.

"Someone has to stop this madness. Players must learn to respect contracts," Anderson said.

Ibrahim Galadima, Nigeria FA chairman, told BBC Sport that he was "surprised" by the latest development.

"We took all the needed steps for the player to return. I am not aware of the fact that he has failed to go back to his club.

"I have to make further enquiries into this matter," Galadima said.

But John Ola ****tu, Obi's agent, told BBC Sport in Lagos that Obi and Lyn's three other Nigerian players - Chinedu Ogbuke, Ezekiel Bala and Emmanuel Sarki, do not have valid travel papers to return to Norway.

"I explained to him that the Norwegian embassy is yet to issue visas to any of the four players.

"It is really sad that he is talking as if the players have got their visas already.

"The reason he is talking this way is because he wants Obi for their game this weekend.

"But that is impossible and unreasonable because we are still awaiting some papers that will help us in procuring the visas and work permits," ****tu said.

PHB

Family Order Mikel To Man U
The Nigerian youth prodigy at the centre of the fierce raging transfer storm between two English Premiership clubs, John Mikel Obi is under intense pressure to take his career to Manchester United. NIGERIANSPORTSONLINE.COM was told by a family member of the lavishly talented Flying Eagles star who won a Silver Ball at the recently concluded World Youth Championship in the Netherland that on several occasions, the family had sat together and intimated their son on the need to shift his allegiance to Manchester United instead of Chelsea.

"On many occasions than one we have sat down together to discuss the Mikel's transfer issue", begins the family member.

"And on each sitting we told him to go to Manchester and save himself these negative controversies which we believe is not good for his career at this age", our usually impecable source who preferred not to be named said and goes on to reveal the real genesis of the controversy.

"The truth is that Mikel excitedly loved the contract he signed with Manchester United. He was also happy with the financial remunerations too.

"But the problem arose when his Manager, John Ola ****tu felt slighted that the contract was signed behind his back.

"He felt his interest was not represented or carried along especially as he was eyeing a bigger money from Chelsea.

And given the level of persuasion from his family members who are no longer comfortable with the way things are going, it wont be out of place for Mikel to succumb to their pressure and go to Manchester United.

NIGERIANSPORTSONLINE.COM findings reveal that Mikel Obi has bought three houses - two bungalows and one storey building in highbrow areas of Jos.

The houses have a street value of over N20m - the two bungalows each costing over N6m while the one storey building values over N8m.

He is also building a state of the art house in his village in Anambra State.

Confirms the family member to NIGERIANSPORTSONLINE.COM:

"Mikel is most prudent when it comes to financial management. He is looking at the future, hence he is investing in landed property.

"So it is not out of sense for him to have bought three houses - one storey building and two bungalows - all in highbrow areas of Jos aside the one he is building in the village.

"I am not an Estate agent nor Estate surveyor. But if you ask me, non of the bungalows would go for anything less than N6m each while the storey building should be over N8m.

"I am aware that Manchester United are yet to pay him because all the financial involvement of the contract he signed with them were paid to Morgan Anderson, the Lyn Oslo Manager who is yet to release them to Mikel.

"So if you ask me I would say that it is not out of place if he is still being paid by Chelsea. It is most probable, given the volume of investment he is presently making.

"Remember also that he recently bought a Jeep with a value of N7.6m and a Honda car to his football mentor, Babawo", the source told NIGERIANSPORTSONLINE.COM.

BY SAB OSUJI

hmmmm

Necronomicon

How much was he being paid by Lyn Oslo

masterK

Interesting article, seems Chelsea may be behaving even worse than we all originally thought if they are paying him.

When you think about the whole saga it does make some sense, he wanted to go to United then suddenly changed his mind. I wonder was there some financial incentive provided by Chelsea to help him make up his mind, it would certainly explain how he could suddenly afford such investments. That is of course assuming the article is reliable.

SteM

Mikel is most prudent when it comes to financial management.

Buying property in Nigeria is a prudent investment!?

Draupnir

Its a prudent investment if you intend on demolishing the property and burning the land so nothing and nobody can ever live or grow there again.

TheMonster

A pretty comprehensive summary from a Utd Forum

what we know and what we dont know, wanted to summarize a few things on here.

first of all, john obi mikel trained with the united first team for some time back in 2002 (or was it 2003, cant remember). we tried to sign him but due to work permits it was out of the question back then.
mikel later on trained with chelseas first team, mourinho claimed he had struck gold after being pinpointed in the right direction by peter kenyon, who knew of john obi mikel after working for manchester united.

john obi mikel and several other nigerians suddenly signed for norwegian team lyn, there was an insane amount of media hype surrounding him at that time, with norwegian newspapers constantly raving about him.at that point, he hadnt even played a single match for lyn. there were several interesting comments from the "nigerian group", as they were saying that mikel was already a chelsea player, and that chelsea were paying them as well.
mikel even told norwegian newspaper dagbladet that he was only on LOAN at lyn, he said he had signed a 4 year contract with chelsea in november 2003 after they had seen him play for the nigerian u17 team.
he said that due to rules he werent allowed to join chelsea until he was 18, and chelsea didnt want to send him back to africa so they sent him to lyn, he also said that after his 18th birthday, he would go back to chelsea.

it was pretty obvious that something was going on behind "closed doors"
from there on it was quiet for some time, mikel had his first match and didnt live up to the insane media hype, but you could still see he had talent.

it pretty much came out of the blue when he suddenly signed for manchester united. abramovich was furious about it as well (according to different sources, usually spot on). it was quite clear that this came as a shock to chelsea, i believe they had a champions league match the following day, a journalist asked mourinho about mikel, wich was replied with "i dont know of any john obi mikel", it was then made clear by a chelsea official that there were to be no more questions about john obi mikel.i felt it was obvious that they didnt want mourinho to say to much, wich would lead to speculations.
later on, it was discovered that chelsea had sent someone to negotiate a deal with lyn over john obi mikel, morgan andersen was annoyed as the chelsea official was constantly playing with his phone instead of trying to make conversations about mikel, it ended with no deal, as morgan didnt think much of the person they had sent. manchester united, who had tried to sign mikel on a previous occasion, caught on to this and saw their chance to snatch mikel from chelsea, the deal was concluded pretty darn quick and the same day, john obi mikel was posing with his manchester united shirt, saying it was the happiest day in his life.he also went on about how nice it was to talk to sir alex on the phone about his future in the club. john obi mikel was going to join manchester united in january 2006.

the following days were disturbing to everyone involved in football.
john obi mikel said he didnt feel safe, that he had been recieving death threats from someone after he had signed for manchester united. lyn moved him to a "safe house" (wich i believe was a hotelroom), and they had some people watching his apartment in case someone showed up there looking for him. someone showed up looking for him, mr.****tu. suddenly there were two agents claiming to have the rights to john obi mikel, fletcher says he has faxed all his papers over to fifa so they can sort this out, as he claims ****tu has done illegal things when getting the "rights" to mikel.
mikel attended a lyn match with ****tu, the next day he was gone.
****tu has also been pointed out as the person threatning john obi mikel.

people at norwegian international airport, gardemoen, said that ****tu and mikel took the first plane to london, it was also mentioned that they were on their way to meet up with chelsea officials, though that is purely speculation, though not very unlikely either. it seems like a mighty big coincidence that they just happened to travel to london, where chelsea is, after all the things that has been said about chelsea already paying mikel.not to mention the fact that ****tu works for one of the dodgiest agents in the world, rune hauge, who`s company is hired by chelsea. sir alex ferguson even traveled to oslo to try and sort things out, but after arriving in oslo he found out that mikel had landed in london.it was impossible to reach mikel by phone,wich was something lyn officials kept trying and trying.

****tu and mikel kept traveling to different countries, making weird statements wherever they met journalist. mikel was saying he was forced to sign for manchester united, that ****tu had showed him that he was fooled into signing for us. ****tu kept saying that what lyn has done is a disgrace, and that morgan anderson is a very bad man. later on came the phone interview with "mikel", talking about how much he wanted to join chelsea, wich actually was someone else than mikel doing the talking (people that know mikel say that it didnt sound like mikel at all, that it was someone else)
i`ll just summarize the next steps quite briefly, as nothing interesting happened there.

-lyn reported everything to fifa
-****tu and mikel joined up with the nigerian national team
-the other nigerian youngsters at lyn also joined up with the national team
-2 of the nigerian lyn youngsters didnt get a spot in the national team, but they didnt get sent back to lyn, even though they werent even allowed to attend with the national team. ****tu refused to send them back.
-fifa made it clear that the contract with lyn was binding, and that the youngsters had to return to lyn at once,there would be serious actions taken towards them if they didnt.
-mikel stated that he was going to honour the decision made by fifa
-****tu said they are going to travel back as soon as possible, mentioned several dates, they never arrived, he claimed it was due to visum issues.
-lyn contacted the norwegian embassy, wich confirmed that they had all the papers ready and that they were only waiting for mikel to pick them up
-lyn contacted ****tu, he was still claiming that there was trouble with his visum.
-after postponding the date several times, ****tu and crew finally landed in oslo.

mikel started training with lyn again, there were several comments made by all those involved. dagbladet did a check and found out that mikel was paying ****tu £30k per month (or was it more often, cant remember).interesting how a young kid can pay his agent £30k per month when he`s only getting £30k per year from lyn. they even had the bank transcripts showing this.
mikel was later asked where he wanted to play, he said that he know where he wants to play but he doesnt want to say it. interesting comment, as on previous occasions he hasnt exactly been afraid to claim his love towards chelsea.

****tu got caught in norwegian customs after a "business" trip to london, he had over £30 000 or £10 000 in cash (cant remember wich sum)

the latest updates are mikel and ****tu claiming that lyn has forged the contract with mikel. my comments on this is, if they knew that the contract was fake all along, why on earth did they wait so long to say it ?
surely they would have been better off saying it when fifa investegated the mikel situation the first time. the thing that scares me though, is that lyn has made a tiny mistake when they sent the contract to the norwegian football association. the first contract they sent them was refused due to parts of the contract being copied from other places, so lyn sent them a new one wich was accepted and used as a foundation when fifa ordered the youngsters back to lyn. there is no doubts that mikel and ****tu signed the contract, the only doubts are if lyn made a small mistake when they sent it to the norwegian footie association, and will that be enough to get him out of his contract ? its a known fact that morgan anderson has been made a laughing stock in norway due to a contract issue a couple of years ago.

two nigerian youngsters, mikel and edu, has now dissapeared again.
lyn have been trying to reach them on phone, but none of them are answering. after mikel got back, he hasnt played a single match, due to the amount of foreigners, lyn has used their legal limit on their goalkeeper and nigerian youngster edu.

the interesting part is how everyone loves to claim that mikel has been telling the truth all along. especially chelsea fans love this, as he`s constantly saying that he wants to play for chelsea and he was forced to sign for united. are they somehow forgetting all the things he has said about him already being a chelsea player,how they are paying him and his friends ?

is chelsea really involved, or is it ****tu who is trying to do everything on his own, by telling mikel that he is already a chelsea player and that lyn is just a short vacation for him until he is 18.

Nunu

What a mess. When are Fifa going to get their act together and rule on this? The longer it stretches out the worse and more comical it gets. With January 1st(date he's supposed to join up with Utd) approaching fast it's only going to get more ridiculous.

Edit: Here's the latest....I was right(ridiculous)!

http://home.skysports.com/list.asp?hlid=330250&CPID=8&clid=&lid=2&title=Mikel+going+to+England+'for+good'

Lyn Oslo midfielder John Obi Mikel has quit the club as he continues to hold out for a move to Chelsea.

Although a deal with Manchester United has been agreed, and the midfielder signed a contract with The Red Devils, the Nigerian still has his sights firmly set on playing for the Premiership champions.

The messy saga, one of the most protracted in the history of the game, shows no signs of ending with things being rather more complicated than Mikel appears to view them.

"I have notified Lyn in writing that I won't do anything more for the club," said the talented teenager to Aftenposten.

"Early Wednesday, I am travelling for good.

"I am going to England.

"I am now hoping that Lyn will release my licence so I can start football training."

There is no prospect of Lyn simply freeing their highly-rated starlet, after brokering a deal with United, and the police have been dragged into the sorry affair.

Mikel's lawyers have claimed Lyn director Morgan Andersen fabricated the African's first professional contract with the Oslo outfit.

However, Andersen vehemently denies this accusation and Fifa have already ruled in Lyn's favour over the document.

Sir Alex Ferguson is believed to still want the 18-year-old, despite the player's reluctance to head to Old Trafford, as there is the suspicion that Mikel is being coerced into joining Chelsea instead.

SteM

This guy sounds like a petulant tw@t. He can go to England if he wants but I would imagine he won't be training anywhere until FIFA make their ruling? That doesn't seem to be happening anytime soon.

Rikand

Should make him stay at Lyn as punishment for being such a . . . .

Why Chelsea or Man U would want such a player who has clearly shown such impetuence and immaturity is beyond me.

oh yeah, hes incredibly skilled . . . . watch him cry after he gets dropped for his first game from either club, should be entertaining

mchurl

seems a it too big headed for my liking i gotta say. Surey at this stage it is up to fifa to rule on this issue as well?