Fergie Re-Opens Mikel Dispute

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has re-opened a dispute with Chelsea over the acrimonious transfer of John Mikel Obi from Old Trafford to Chelsea.

Jul 28, 2008 5:58:23 PM

John Mikel Obi - Nigeria

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Ferguson signed Obi from Norwegian side Lyn Oslo in 2005 amid controversial circumstances. The Nigerian claimed that he was pressurised into signing for United without having his representatives present. He fled Norway only to emerge to declare he had a prior arrangement to sign for Chelsea, and that it was the London club he wanted to join.

The transfer has been a bone of contention between the two clubs since, and Ferguson now believes that Obi would have been better off with the current European Champions.

Obi was primarily an attacking midfielder in his early career and it was from that position that he won the Silver Ball at the 2005 FIFA Youth Championships. However, since moving to Chelsea, the 21-year-old has been deployed further back the field.

Ferguson claims that the player, given his age and talent, would have benefited more from a stay at Old Trafford.

He is reported to have told kickoffnigeria.com: “Because of his talent and his young age we thought we could have developed him [Mikel] the right way.

“At the time we were disappointed because we thought that Mikel would be a Manchester United player.

“But he chose Chelsea in the real sense of the matter and there was nothing we could do about that."

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