Nigeria captain Mikel Obi has said he is ready to leave Chelsea in January in search of first-team football. Obi, who helped the Super Eagles to a 3-1 win over Algeria on Saturday, confessed he is no longer happy at the North London club.
He said he is sad that Chelsea’s Italian manager Antonio Conte continues to ignore him, despite working hard in training.
It is widely believed that Obi, Chelsea’s second longest-serving player behind captain John Terry, fell out of favour because he chose to represent Nigeria at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, where the Under-23 team won bronze.
But he said he had no regrets over his decision
“Yes, maybe people will say the new manager was upset I left and went to the Olympics, that I didn’t have a pre-season with the team,” The Sun quoted the player as saying.
“He (Conte) probably thinks I don’t care about the team, things like that.
“But I don’t want to use those excuses. I have to keep training hard and make sure I change the manager’s mind. If not, then we’ll see what happens in January.”
Mikel added, “But, no, I would never swap my Olympic medal for a place back in the Chelsea team.
“One thing you have to do in life as a man is that when you make a decision, or a sacrifice, you have to deal with it.
“You have to stand by your decision. You have to live with it.
“I have not one single regret in going to the Olympics. And I will not trade my medal for anything.”
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