Mikel Obi waved goodbye to football at 35

Image: TV360 Nigeria

Former Chelsea and Super Eagles midfielder Mikel Obi said he is quitting the round leather game after 20 years of trophy-laden career for both club and country. Mikel made the disclosure in a long emotional statement on his Instagram account on Tuesday afternoon.

The post read: “There is a saying that ‘all good things must come to an end,’ and for my professional football career, that day is today.”

He added: “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,” the Chelsea legend concluded.

Mikel started playing professionally with Norwegian club Lyn in 2004 before moving controversially to Chelsea in 2016.

The Jos-born player became a legend at Stamford Bridge, where he appeared 374 times for The Blues. He won the Premier League twice, The FA Cup thrice, and the League Cup, FA Community Shield, UEFA Champions League, and UEFA Europa League once, respectively, during an 11 years stint with Chelsea.

The former Plateau United youth player featured for Tianjin TEDA, Middlesbrough, Trabzonspor and winning the Turkish Cup with them.

Mikel also had stints at Stoke City and Kuwait SC, where he played until his retirement.

For Nigeria, Mikel played for the Golden Eaglets and reached the final of the 2005 FIFA U-20 World Cup but lost to Messi’s Argentina team and the Fly Eagles team during his youth career.

Mikel went on to appear 91 times for the Super Eagles and captained the Nigeria national team.

He was an essential member of the Super Eagles squad that won the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa.

During his senior career for the national team, he became a one-time Olympics medalist. He won a bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil.

Source: gazettengr.com

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