Ex-Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel recently shared insights into how certain seasoned players at Chelsea influenced the club’s former owner, Roman Abramovich, to dismiss managers at Stamford Bridge.
It’s worth noting that over the 20 years of Abramovich’s ownership, he appointed a total of twelve managers.
During a recent interview on Rio Ferdinand’s Vibe with Five show, Mikel Obi was questioned about the tactics employed by Chelsea players when they aimed to have a manager removed from their position.
The former Super Eagles captain said, “The chat happens between the big guys: JT [John Terry], Frank [Lampard], Didier [Drogba] and Petr Cech and a little bit of Ashley [Cole]
“It is not like a chat where they go ‘we are going to go at you’, but the one person we really did not like was Rafa [Benitez] because he was not a Chelsea kind of manager, and AVB [Andre Villas Boas].
“AVB was younger than most of the players, younger than Frank, younger than JT, and for some reason, he stopped playing Frank and Frank did not take that well so there was a little bit of a rift.
“When that happens and you get bad results, players who have been playing but are no longer playing, start talking and the atmosphere is a little bit down, it cycles around and before you know it there is a little bit of talk.
“They stop talking to the manager, not saying ‘good morning’ and just walk past. That is how they get their message across. Then, Roman [Abramovich] comes in, as Roman only speaks to those guys, and once their story has been told to Roman, then Roman makes the decisions which favour the players.”
Mikel Obi secured numerous accolades, including the UEFA Champions League trophy, while playing for Chelsea in his tenure with the club.
Following his illustrious career, the Nigerian footballer has since retired from professional football.
