Former Chelsea and Super Eagles midfielder John Obi Mikel has revealed that Premier League eligibility rules prevented Manchester United from signing him, despite the club’s strong desire to secure his services as a teenager.
Mikel, who was just 16 years old at the time, said he spent nearly a month training at Old Trafford, regularly joining first-team sessions under legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
In an interview with Sky Sports, Mikel explained that Ferguson was eager to keep him at the club but was restricted by the league’s strict regulations on signing young non-European players.
“The rule then required players to have featured in at least 75 per cent of their national team’s matches to qualify for a work permit,” Mikel said. “I hadn’t played for Nigeria’s senior team at the time, so I didn’t meet the requirement.”
He added that his young age further complicated the move, as he was still ineligible to play competitively for United’s senior side. “The idea was to bring me in quietly and move things along before I turned 18,” he recalled.
Despite the setback, Mikel said Ferguson had immense faith in his talent and often paired him with Roy Keane during training sessions to help him adapt to the team’s intensity.
“Fergie loved me. He would always pair me with Roy Keane because he thought Keane would protect me from players like Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt, who were always tackling hard in training,” Mikel said with a laugh.
Mikel would later go on to join Chelsea, where he enjoyed a successful career spanning over a decade, winning multiple Premier League titles, the UEFA Champions League, and other major honours.
