Former Super Eagles captain, John Obi Mikel has revealed that he was frightened when he saw Sir Alex Ferguson for the first time after he joined Chelsea despite having agreed a move to Manchester United.
Recall, in 2005 Mikel secured a switch to United shortly after turning 18. United persuaded Mikel to sign a four-year contract with his agents being bypassed and the midfielder was expected at Old Trafford in January 2006.
Mikel, who was pictured wearing a United shirt at a press conference in Norway, later claimed that he was pressured into signing the contract without his agent present and said that he wanted to sign for Chelsea instead.
Mikel went on to sign for Chelsea in a £16million deal but recalled an amusing tale from when he first saw Ferguson after the transfer.
According to the former Nigerian international, he attempted to hide from the United boss and ended up tripping over on the stairs, with Ferguson subsequently giving him a ‘death stare’.
Speaking on The Debrief Podcast, Mikel said: ‘I saw him one time, it was Manchester United against Chelsea, I was coming out of the dressing room and as I was coming out of the door at the corner he was coming out and I just lost control of myself’
‘I can’t remember what happened, I think I tripped up on the stairs, he looked at me and he just walked out. He started chewing his gum and just walked out. He didn’t say a word.’
However, Mikel revealed that Ferguson eventually forgave him for the transfer.
He said: ‘It was a death stare. I met him a few times after that and we started talking about it and he forgot about it and forgave me.’
Mikel went on to enjoy a lengthy spell at Chelsea until 2017. In total he played 372 times for Chelsea and scored six goals, while he won the Champions League, two Premier League titles, four FA Cups, two League Cups, and the Europa League.
On the international stage, Mikel represented Nigeria on 91 occasions and won the Africa Cup
of Nations in 2013.
