John Michael Nchekwube Obinna was born on April 22, 1987, in Jos, Nigeria. Mikel also plays for the Nigerian national team, the Super Eagles, and earns a lot of money not only from football but also through sponsorships from companies like as Pepsi and Samsung. He has been called "Africa's most expensive player" and "Nigeria's Lionel Messi".
Mikel played for several clubs in Nigeria before moving abroad to join Chelsea in 2008. He has won many titles at Chelsea including the UEFA Champions League twice. After winning all these trophies, he decided to continue his career by joining Chinese club Tianjin Teda in 2011.
Before turning professional, Mikel spent four years at Spanish club AS Monaco where he became a first-team regular. He returned to Nigeria with Enyimba International after leaving Chelsea and has since then played there regularly. The club was bought by American billionaire Warren Buffet in 2014 and they have become one of the top teams in Nigeria.
Mikel has been praised for his amazing talent since he started playing football. He is considered one of Africa's best players because of his excellent skills and eye for goal. His vision, technique, and ability to find the back of the net make him such a valuable asset to his team.
Mikel has already achieved so much in his life and it's only the beginning.
Current group John Michael Nchekwube Obinna (born 22 April 1987), sometimes known as John Obi Mikel, John Mikel Obi, or Mikel John Obi, is a Nigerian professional footballer who currently plays for Trabzonspor in Turkey. He can be deployed as a defensive midfielder or centre back.
Mikel has been praised for his energy, endurance, and ability to read the game. He is known for his accurate passes and ability to help out defensively.
He was born in Enugu City, Enugu State to Christian parents and grew up in Lagos. His family moved to England when he was nine years old. He attended St Mary's Catholic College in Paddington before going on to study economics and business at University College London. While at UCL, he played for the university's soccer team which is now known as Chelsea F.C.. After graduating, Mikel returned to Nigeria where he signed with Portuguese club Porto. There he won two Primeira Liga titles and one Taça de Portugal. In June 2011, Mikel joined English Premier League side Chelsea for a reported fee of £7 million ($11.5 million).
At Chelsea, Mikel became a first-team regular and helped the club win the 2012 UEFA Champions League. He also contributed three goals in 41 appearances during his only season with Los Blancos due to injury problems.
Mikel Obi, or John Mikel Obi, is a Nigerian professional footballer who played as a midfielder for the famed English club, Chelsea, before going to the Chinese side, Tianjin TEDA, in the Chinese Super League. A Jos native...
He started his career at Chelsea and made over 100 appearances for the club. After six years with the west London side, during which time he won two Premier League titles, an FA Cup and a UEFA Champions League trophy, Mikel moved to China in 2013.
Mikel has been voted Chelsea's player of the year three times - in 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12. He also won the FA Cup in 2009 and the UEFA Champions League in 2012. The Nigeria international was also named African Footballer of the Year in 2009.
He is one of only four players to have scored in the Champions League final against Manchester United while playing for different teams (the others being Marco van Basten, Ronald Koeman and Cristiano Ronaldo).
Mikel played a major role in helping Chelsea win their first ever Premier League title in 2009-10, scoring seven goals and providing eight assists in 38 games. He was also part of the team that won the FA Cup in 2009.
Nigeria Current teams/Mikel John Obi joined Chelsea in July 2007. He has been called the "Pillar of Wisdom" by manager José Mourinho. Obi has won two Premier League titles, two FA Cups and one Champions League with Chelsea.
Before joining Chelsea, Mikel played for Enyimba International and Anderlecht. The Belgian side paid £5 million for his services in June 2006. He has also played for Nigeria at international level. Mikel was part of the Nigerian squad that finished third at the 2008 African Cup of Nations. He scored his first goal for Nigeria against South Africa in a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying match.
Mikel currently plays for Chinese club Shanghai SIPG. The club announced on 2 February 2016 that they had signed Mikel from Chelsea for €50 million ($58 million).
He returned to Chelsea after one season with Shanghai SIPG hoping it will help him regain his place in Jose Mourinho's team. However, he found it difficult to compete with younger players like Fikayi Tomori and Andreas Christensen for a spot in the starting lineup and made only five appearances in all competitions.
Several Nigerians have achieved tremendous success in football. And you should be familiar with the names of Nigerian footballers who have achieved success in England, Turkey, Norway, Italy, Portugal, and other renowned football teams throughout the world. These players include Kenneth Odeyimnoh, Jay-Jay Okocha, Emmanuel Amuneke, Joseph Yobo, and Sunday Oliseh.
Nigerian players have been emerging as potential recruits across Europe. There are currently about 350 Nigerian citizens playing professional football in 35 countries around the world. About 20% of those players are in England. The most popular leagues for Nigerian players to play in are the Premier League and the Championship. However, only about 4% of all non-British nationals play in the Premier League.
The number of Nigerian players has increased dramatically over the past few years. This is due to the fact that Nigeria's national team, known as Super Eagles, has become very popular among foreign players. Several notable Nigerians have played for the Super Eagles including Kenneth Odeyimnoh, Joseph Yobo, and Sunday Oliseh. Currently, none of these players are registered with a club in England but they can join any of the hundreds of clubs here if they get a visa or work permit.
It is not easy for a foreigner to gain entry into the English league.
Personal life in 2003 During the preparations for the 2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship in Finland, the Nigerian Football Association (NFA) submitted "Michael" as "Mikel." However, the NFA later changed the name to "Matej". It is not clear why this change was made. For more information on this topic, see our article, which year did mikel obi play in the under-17 world cup?
He started out as Michael but which year did Mikel Obi play in the Under-17 World Cup? In 1999, Nigeria went into the tournament as one of the favorites to win it. But after losing their first two matches, coach Samson Siasia withdrew Mikel from the squad. He was replaced by Joseph Yobo as captain and midfielder Ike Shorunmu was appointed as replacement player.
Nigeria lost both their matches against Argentina and Brazil and failed to qualify for the next stage. However, after the tournament, the NFA decided to change Mikel's name to Matej due to a trademark issue with an Italian company that manufactured sportswear.