Former Super Eagles midfielder, Mikel Obi has suggested that he was robbed of the 2013 African Player of The Year Award by CAF.
Mikel finished as runner-up to Ivory Coast and then Manchester City star, Yaya Toure.
That year, Mikel won the African Cup of Nations, which ordinarily would have increased his chances of winning the APOTY award.
However, Yaya Toure was having a blast of a season with Manchester City, leading the club’s charge to the Premier League title, it would not matter so much for CAF that Mikel held it down against the Man City midfield general when they faced off in the quarter-final of the AFCON in 2013.
Not only did Mikel Obi win the AFCON with Nigeria, but he was also having a good season with Chelsea as well.
He won the Champions League title with Chelsea within the year in review. Mikel was a key figure in the team that beat Bayern Munich to the UCL title in 2012.
He put up a man-of-the-match display as the anchor and heart of Chelsea, who were without John Terry.
The former Super Eagles captain in a chat with Dubai Eye 103.8 argued that; “I got robbed of the African Footballer of The Year Award. Before I went, I was told I won it.
“I was at the airport flying to Nigeria because the ceremony was in Nigeria, and Man City was playing, and Yaya Toure scored two goals.
“I won the Nations Cup (AFCON), I won the Europa League and a year before that, I won the Champions League. There is no way I wouldn’t have won it. I knew I had won it. It doesn’t matter how many goals he scored. I was in my prime, playing a lot of games.
“You could have seen the ceremony. Before it was even announced, everybody left the stage, people left.”
