Former Nigerian midfielder John Mikel Obi says he has no regrets picking Chelsea over Manchester United when he joined the English Premier League side.
When Mikel broke into the big footballing scene he was the subject of a high-profile tussle between Chelsea and Man United.
Shedding light on the incident in a recent interview with BBC Sport Africa, Mikel revealed that he did sign a pre-contract with Man United as he was young and star-struck by the presence of United greatest manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
He is however grateful to Chelsea for acting swiftly to take him out of Norway and claimed that playing for Chelsea was the best career decision he ever made.
He also revealed that he did not enjoy any bit of the back and forth between PL clubs, as all he wanted was to play football.
“I don’t regret any decision I made because I enjoyed everything I achieved at Chelsea – it’s the best decision I have ever made in my life,” the 35 year-old recounts.
“I signed a pre-contract for Manchester United when I was 17. If you are a kid and you see Sir Alex Ferguson right in front of you with the contract, of course, you will be tempted.
“I acted as a young kid and as soon as Chelsea heard the news, they came and got me out of Norway.
“That’s when people started saying that I was kidnapped. It wasn’t a great moment for me then. I just wanted to play football because I was so young.”
Mikel Obi won almost everything with Chelsea with the Uefa Super Cup trophy, the only trophy missing among his Chelsea’s medals.
