Mikel Obi Reunites With Alex Ferguson After 19 Years Of Feud

Retired Nigerian professional footballer, John Mikel Obi has reunited with former Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, years after their resentment.

Naija News reports that following a prolonged period entangled in one of the most controversial transfer sagas in football history, the former Super Eagles captain revealed in a social media post that the legendary football manager had forgiven him.

In 2005, Mikel Obi was a promising talent at Norwegian club, Lyn Oslo, catching the eye of Manchester United.

The Nigerian youngster appeared to have been signed by the Red Devils from Lyn Oslo, with an official announcement of the deal made.

Mikel was even photographed in a United jersey, and a press conference was held.

However, the transfer dramatically fell through when Chelsea intervened, leading Mikel to express that he was coerced into the move.

“I signed a contract with Manchester United and I didn’t do that of my own free will.

“I was put under a lot of pressure to do that. I was denied advice from my agent and people I trust and I didn’t get much time to think about that.

“I did something I did not want to do. Because of the pressure from Mr Morgan (Andersen, Lyn’s sporting director) and a representative of United it became too much.

“I was pushed and I had nobody on my side so I had to do it. I was denied a chance to have a week to think about it and get some independent advice from people, so the pressure was too much,” Mikel had told Sky Sports News in 2006.

Reports had it at the time that Ferguson’s planned trip to Norway for crisis talks had to be cancelled when he received news that the Nigerian player had disappeared from training and was believed to be heading to London for discussions with Chelsea.

As fate would have it, the Nigerian player eventually joined Chelsea and enjoyed a successful 11-year tenure at Stamford Bridge, winning numerous trophies.

In a later podcast, Mikel disclosed that he had been apprehensive about encountering Ferguson on the touchline during matches between Chelsea and Manchester United.

When they finally met, the retired Scottish manager had a rather unpleasant expression.

Nineteen years later, Mikel Obi had a pleasant reunion with Ferguson on the night of the UEFA Champions League final between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund at Wembley.

Naija News reports that both parties had a delightful time reminiscing and catching up.

On his Instagram post, Mikel Obi shared a picture of himself with Ferguson with the caption, “He has forgiven me.”