Former Super Eagles of Nigeria Captain, John Obi Mikel, has vowed never to return to his former club, Trabzonspor. Earlier this week, the Turkish Super Lig outfits announced that they have parted ways with the Nigerian midfielder on mutual terms. Despite failing to let the public in on the reason for the departure of the Nigerian, it is now clear that an Instagram post made by Mikel last week calling on the league to be suspended as done in other parts of Europe, owing to the outbreak of the corona virus was behind the termination of his contract.
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Mikel’s public stance on the issue was not taken likely by the club’s hierarchy and the Turkish Football Federation. Despite the country’s Sports Minister bowing to pressure and suspending the league indefinitely, Mikel has vowed not to return to the club.
They were really upset about the whole thing. I was told to meet with the president in his office one-on-one. He asked me to take it down (his statement). I told him I wasn’t going to do that. It’s my opinion. This is how I feel. We live in a free world. I have freedom of speech. I can express my opinion…I wanted to win the league too but at this point in time, we have to think about what is more important: to save peoples’ lives. I want to help in any way that I can to defeat this virus. For us to be out there playing; I don’t think we are helping the global situation. I don’t feel it is right for us to play football. I told them I wanted to go home. They said, “If you go home, you’re not coming back.” I said, “OK, I’m going home
Mikel Obi
Activities in the football world have been halted due to the corona virus as the globe continues the fight against the pandemic.
Source:
All Africa
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