Former Nigeria U23 national team coach, Samson Siasia, has made a stunning revelation about former Super Eagles captain John Mikel Obi. In a recent interview with Elegbete TV, Siasia disclosed that Mikel offered him €50,000 in a bid to secure a place in Nigeria’s squad for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
According to Siasia, Mikel initially showed no interest in helping the team during their Olympic qualification campaign. At that time, Mikel was struggling for game time at Chelsea, spending much of his season on the bench.
“Mikel wasn’t a regular starter at Chelsea then; he was mostly on the bench,” Siasia recalled. “I told him we only had one match left against Ghana and pleaded with him to come and help us. I warned him that if he didn’t come, he wouldn’t be part of the Olympics squad. But Mikel insisted he was busy with Chelsea.”
Despite Mikel’s refusal, the team managed to secure a 0–0 draw against Ghana, sealing their qualification without him.
Siasia went on to reveal that once preparations for the Olympics began, Mikel tried to force his way back in. Through his agent, he allegedly offered Siasia €50,000 to be included in the team.
“I told them it wasn’t about money,” Siasia explained. “He didn’t help us during the qualifiers, so how could I drop someone who fought for the ticket just to include him? It wasn’t going to happen.”
As a result, Mikel was left out of the 2008 squad. However, he would go on to captain Nigeria’s U23 team at the 2016 Rio Olympics, also under Siasia’s guidance, leading the side to a bronze medal finish.
