“He forcing me to leave Chelsea in 2017 i can never forgive him” – Mikel share why he left Chelsea
Former Chelsea midfielder John Mikel Obi has revealed that his departure from the club in 2017 was influenced by the then-manager Antonio Conte. Mikel disclosed in a conversation on the Vibe with Five podcast that Conte’s arrival marked a turning point for him at Chelsea.
According to Mikel, Conte made it clear that if he and his compatriot Victor Moses left to represent the Nigerian national team at the Olympics, they would no longer be part of his plans. Mikel convinced Moses to stay while he attended the Olympics but upon his return, Conte sent him to the reserve team.
Mikel explained, “Conte was the reason why I left [Chelsea]. Once he came in, he was like, ‘You’re not playing anymore.’ Then I left. Obviously, when I saw Conte coming into the club, I was like, ‘My time here is done.’
“The only reason is when he came in, me and Victor Moses got invited to the [Nigerian] national team for the Olympics. So, I had a conversation with the club, and he [Conte] said, ‘If you go, you’re not playing anymore for the club. Because I’m a new manager, we need to think about the club.’”
Mikel chose to represent Nigeria at the Olympics, and upon his return, he found himself relegated to the reserve team. The lack of communication from Conte led to his decision to leave Chelsea. Subsequently, Mikel joined the Chinese side Tianjin TEDA after leaving the Premier League club.
