Exclusive: Chelsea Star Mikel Regrets Accepting To Represent Nigeria U23s At Olympics

Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel, 29, has regretted accepting to represent the Nigerian Olympic National Team at the 2016 Olympic Games.

And this is not related to the fact that the central midfielder could lose his spot in the Blues first team upon his return to Stamford Bridge, having missed a large part of pre-season training.

The Super Eagles skipper has complained that the financial burden of taking care of the team at their get-together in Atlanta is too much for him to handle, and he showed his displeasure on Saturday by refusing to pay for a bus to take the squad to training.

A Nigeria Football Federation insider told allnigeriasoccer.com : “It is not right for players to spend their personal funds for national assignments when there is supposed to be allocation for the expenses. Our sports administrators hate planning.

“Mikel is tired of the whole situation and regretting why he came to join the team. He is also not happy that they players are stranded in Atlanta. ”

Depending on Nigeria’s progress in Rio, Mikel could miss Chelsea’s first two matches of the new Premier League season, against West Ham and Watford.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

Photo Credit : chelseafc.com