Jose Mourinho Reveals His Love For Mikel Obi

Roma Manager, Jose Mourinho, who managed Nigerian legendary midfielder, Mikel Obi, for over three years while at Chelsea, has admitted that he likes everything about the retired footballer.

Recall that Mikel Obi played under Jose Mourinho from 2006 to 2007 and then from 2013 to 2015. They won one FA Cup, two league cups, and one Premier League title together.

The former Super Eagles captain was well-known for his ball-handling skill and long-range passes in the early days of his football career. But his position was reversed at Stamford Bridge under the Portuguese manager.

With two goals to his record, Mikel Obi led Nigeria to a second-place finish at the 2005 Under-20 World Cup in Holland. He finished second behind Lionel Messi as the most valuable player of the tournament.

Obi recorded all these as an attacking midfielder and was expected to compete shoulder-to-shoulder with Messi throughout his football career.

Hence, he quickly rose to fame as one of the most in-demand players after the under-20 World Cup.

There were rumours that he had already signed a deal with Manchester United, who were looking for a midfielder to replace the legendary Paul Scholes.

The Nigerian, however, decided to join Jose Mourinho at Chelsea after some drama, in what is now regarded as one of the most bizarre transfers in Premier League history.

Unexpectedly, after Mikel joined Chelsea, Mourinho converted him into a defensive midfielder who barely scored goals until he retired.

During an interview on ObiOne Podcast, a platform owned by Mikel Obi, Jose Mourinho said: “I liked everything about Mikel. If you go through all the positional [defensive] midfield players that I have had during my career, there are lots of similar things.”