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Former Super Eagles skipper has taken time to recall how Sir Alex Ferguson reacted to his decision to choose Chelsea over Manchester United FC.<\/p>\n
That decision saw him turn-down a very-interested Manchester United FC manager Sir Alex Ferguson who at the time was coach of a very talented team.<\/p>\n
Obi who retired from active football in 2022 says Sir Alex Ferguson was angry but his mind was set on playing for the Blues.<\/p>\n
\u201d Sir Alex thought he got me, yeah,\u201d Mikel Obi explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did the press conference and it was everywhere. Then obviously Roman [Abramovich], everybody at Chelsea saw it and they were like, \u2018What\u2019s going on here? We\u2019ve been looking at this player for two or three years now, what\u2019s happening here?\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously they sent my agent down to Lyn and then he came down to Norway, and then for a couple of hours I went missing. He took me out from my apartment where I used to live with a couple of my friends.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen it took me about a year, I couldn\u2019t play for either United or Chelsea because FIFA was like, \u2018OK we need to resolve this.\u2019 So I went to FIFA and I was like, \u2018I didn\u2019t mean to sign for United.’\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI did have a meeting with Fergie at the FA office in London because the FA also wanted to get involved and was like, \u2018We need to get this player playing, he\u2019s a young player, he needs to play football.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was just me and him in a room, yeah that was feisty that. I had my agent sitting outside and he was like, \u2018When you go into this meeting, because he\u2019s going to try to brainwash, everything he says, just make sure you say no.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I went into that office, into that meeting, so everything he was saying I was like, \u2018Ah, I\u2019m sorry boss, I can\u2019t play for United, it was a mistake, I didn\u2019t mean to sign.\u2019 It was a long table, he was sitting right over there and I was sitting at the edge of the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was sitting at the other edge, I could see him go red, he was like, \u2018Are you sure you don\u2019t want to play for United, the biggest club in the world?\u2019 He\u2019s like, \u2018What is it you want, do you want more money? What is it you want, I\u2019ll give it to you.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cI was like, \u2018Sorry boss, I can\u2019t play for United, I want to go to Chelsea.\u2019 So we had about 20 or 30 minutes in the room and he walked off and then that was it.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe walked away, and then the next couple of weeks he was like, \u2018OK, well I\u2019m not going to let him go for free,\u2019 so [Chelsea paid] \u00a314million to United and \u00a34m to Lyn.\u201d Obi narrated.<\/p>\n
Mikel went on to become a Chelsea legend after enjoying multiple domestic and continental successes with a the Blues over a period of eleven years.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n