Mikel Obi Reveals Nigeria Has Failed To Refund Him After He Flew The Nigerian Football Team To The Rio 2016 Olympics (Video)
Chelsea legend John Obi Mikel has revealed that Nigerian football authorities have yet to reimburse him for the money he personally spent on flight arrangements for the national team during the Rio Olympics in Brazil eight years ago.
In an interview on his podcast as shared by the Pickers, the former Nigeria international said he was not respected even after leading the Olympic football team to a Bronze medal.
It could be recalled that the Nigeria football contingent was on the verge of missing on the Olympic games in 2016 due to lack of adequate preparation from the government’s side but Mikel came to the rescue and fkew the to the games.
The former midfielder even had to lose his place in Antonio Conte’s squad at Chelsea because of his decision to lead Nigeria to the Olympics in Brazil.
Mikel said his efforts were not appreciated enough by those who were supposed to provide logistics for the games and attributed this to the massive corruption in the system.
“Again, talk about the corruption, where a budget has been signed by the government, and somebody sitting on top of that money didn’t release that money, and we are all sitting at the hotel, about to fly to, I think it was Rio, yeah,” Mikel said.
He continued, “And everyone’s thinking ‘how are we going to get there.’ There was no money to pay for the flight. There was nothing to do the players were worried, and for most of these players, it is their first time of going to a major tournament.
“So I thought why not. So I spoke to the coach, ‘how could we find a plane?’ We found a plane and I had to pay for it. I funded it. When we got there I thought I would reimbursed my money but up till haven’t been refunded… that’s the mentality.
“That’s the thinking. ‘It’s gonna be Mikel. He can afford it.’ But it’s not that. It’s the principle. It’s the respect. You know what I told them, ‘okay guys, I’ve done it but you need to reimburse me my money.’
“But they still didn’t do it. But the joy that I take out of that was that we got there and those young players were able to get a medal. Olympic medal.
“You know we finished third. But it was still a massive achievement and for me see that those young players went back to their families knowing that they got a medal was more than the money.”
Mikel never played for Chelsea again after the Olympics and had to move to China.
John Mikel Obi flew the Nigerian team to Rio 2016 with his own money. Eight years later, no refund. Serving your country shouldn’t come with this kind of invoice. pic.twitter.com/OiTNYtLe2d
— The Pickers (@9jaPickers) June 19, 2025
