Mikel Obi Announces Retirement From Professional Football

John Mikel Obi, a former midfielder for the Super Eagles and Chelsea, has ended his 20-year career in sports.

The former captain of the Nigerian national team announced his retirement from professional football on Instagram on September 27, 2022.

The professional football player, born on April 22, 1987, began his career as a defensive midfielder.

Mikel Obi started his career with the local team, Plateau United, before switching to the Norwegian club Lyn in 2004 when he was 17 years old.

He then completed a contentious transfer to English team, Chelsea, in 2006 after Manchester United allegedly claimed to have already signed him.

He spent 11 years with Chelsea before departing for China in 2017 with Tianjin TEDA. He spent two years in China then returned to England on a temporary deal with Middlesbrough before joining Trabzonspor on a free transfer in July 2019 and moving to Stoke City in August 2020.

He played 91 times for Nigeria throughout the course of a 14-year international career, between 2005 and 2019, and scored six goals.

In a post on Instagram, Mikel Obi wrote, “There is a saying that “all good things must come to an end”, and for my professional football career, that day is today.

“I look back at the past 20 years of my career, and I must say that I am very satisfied with all that I was able to achieve and more importantly the human it has helped shape.

“All of this would not have been possible without the unwavering support of my family, managers, clubs, coaches, teammates and most importantly my ever-loyal fans. You supported me through my highs and lows, even on days that I did not live up to your expectations. I say a big thank you.

“I will also like to encourage everyone who I may have inspired one way or the other in the course of my career to never give up on their dreams, for every time you think about quitting, remind yourself why you started.

“This is not goodbye, it’s the start of another journey, another chapter of my life. I look forward to what the future holds and I hope you will walk with me. Thank you.”