Super
Eagles captain and former Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel explained why
he accepted to move to Chinese Premier League to team up with Tianjin
Teda. He said it was done to help Nigeria’s push to be at the 2018 World
Cup in Russia.
Mikel had been primarily snubbed from
playing with the first team by Chelsea Coach, Antonio Conte, but he
still remained a regular for the national team So he decided to move to Tianjin Teda on a three year deal so that he could get some playing time. Mikel said during an interview with Owngoalnigeria.com:
' “I could easily have
stayed in Chelsea for the remaining six months of my contract but it won’t be
in the best interest of my nation, as they need me match fit when the World Cup
2018 qualifiers resume”.
“It wasn’t an easy
decision to make but I seriously need matches to stay fit for Nigeria. Nigerians
don’t deserve to miss out of the World Cup after back to back failure to
qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations”.
Adding that he didn't do it for the money even though his
current paycheck is double what he made at Chelsea.
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