Drogba told me to leave Chelsea, says Mikel Obi

John Mikel Obi shared that his departure from Chelsea was influenced by advice from his former teammate, Didier Drogba.

The rift began when Antonio Conte, the newly-appointed manager at the time, wasn’t pleased with Mikel Obi’s decision to represent Nigeria at the Olympics.

This led to a fallout between them, causing Mikel Obi to be sidelined upon his return to Stamford Bridge.

Interestingly, during a tough spell for Chelsea, Conte attempted to reconcile with Mikel Obi and reintegrate him into the team after their previous discord.

“Conte called me to his office and asked me to play again. I said, ‘No, thank you very much. I have already made up my mind I wanted to go anyway’,” Mikel Obi said on the Vibe with Five podcast.

“I spoke to Didier Drogba. He said, ‘Once it starts happening like this, find your way. Just go. Try something new’”.

Super Eagles’ legend Mikel left Chelsea for Chinese club Tianjin TEDA.