Former Super Eagles captain, John Mikel Obi has blasted footballers with African roots, who opted to play for European countries.
Mikel, who won the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations title with the Super Eagles claimed that their fatherland should not be a backup option.
The former Chelsea midfielder stated that such players should not consider playing for Nigeria or their African nation if things don’t work out.
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“They say they wanna play for England or France or whatever it is, and then they wait. They keep waiting and keep waiting,” he said on his podcast.
“When they get to 25 or 26 and they don’t get a call up from England, then they call Nigeria. We shouldn’t be treated like second options, we are not second options.
“If you decide you want to play for England, stick to it. Sit and wait. If you don’t get a call-up, you don’t get a call-up. But don’t wait until you’re 29 or 30 and then you call the Nigerian FA to tell them you’re ready to play for them. F*ck off mate.”
By Adeboye Amosu
10 Comments
In this regard I its pertinent for the NFF to set a threshold age for which no foreign born will play for SE again.Mikel of them actually consider Nigeria as second option which is so bad.If a foreign born cannot write to the NNF indicating interest to play for SE before 25yrs. The let them forget it.
Kevin Akpoguma
Rubbish talk by Mikel! It’s Nigeria and NFF that wants the foreign born Nigerians more than the players. NFF is not compelled to seek the value of foreign born players of any playing age.
Its not that deep, NFF aint all that cracked up to be. Its Nigerian people and NFF that wants foreign born and even mixed Nigerian players than foreign born and mixed Nigerians players that want to play for Nigeria. You dont know how many times I see people begging them to play for Nigeria. Stop acting like Nigerian football is this hottest thing since sliced bread
Foreign and mixed Nigerian got more sense, they got a different education. I dont know who will want to play for a corrupt organization. What happened to Leon Balogun? He exposed them and was never heard of again. Nigerian and their egos, a lot of talk and pride with little to show on an international stage. I rather sit out and not get called up by England than to be in a corrupt organization.
It is the NFF that Mikel should be talking to,they are actually the one begging the foreign born players to come play for Nigeria.of all tge foreign borns we’ve been calling up,how many of them have been able to help us win the Afcon or even help us qualified for the world cup?
NFF should get their acts right and develop the home grown players;Mikel himself is home grown,so also those greats before him like Kanu Nwankwo,JayJay Okocha,Rashidi Yekinni and the recent ones;Victor Osimhen and Samuel Chukwueze
Mikel has no tight to make such utterances. These players are professionals and can choose to play for any country they like within the rules of Fifa. Let’s stop this holier than thou attitude
Dumbass your failure to reason with Mikel is the reason Nigeria is treated as second hand by this Gen Zs.
Every other country is leveraging on the availability of foreign born players and coaches with way better footballing education to advance their football and national teams. Illiterate Nigerians and enemies of progress form themselves into an army to fight our own foreign borns.
Close to 70% of the morrocan team that got to the semifinals of the world cup was made up of these class of players.
Their U23 team at this olympics is over 60% foreign born. This is despite having the best domestic league in Africa after the Egyptian league.
Algeria didn’t win the AFCON for 30 yrs until they started integrating foreign born players and coaches into their national team.
Senegal won ther first afcon after hybriding their national team equally with home and foreign born players and coaches too.
We are here rasing shoulders out of sheer empty arrogance when we cannot currently raise a starting XI of homegrown players that is better than the starting XI of the team that won silver at the last afcon.
Absolute nonsense…!
As long as the player is better than any incumbent in his position, any foreign born that chooses to play for Nigeria even at the age of 39 is welcome. They are Nigerians and have as much right to the SE as any other Nigerian passport carrying player.
Anyone that is pained that life gave them the opportunity of having choices to make can go and drown himself in the pacific ocean.
And while they are in the pacific ocean, if drowning is not doing the job fast enough, they can take otapiapia to “speed up” the transition to the great beyond.
Mikel won the 2019 Afcon with Nigeria?
Wow, that’s news to me.
Abi Afcon pemeji ni? Maybe it was a spiritual Afcon. Not in this physical realm.