Manchester United Captain Carrick Labelled The English Obi Mikel
Published: March 16, 2018
Manchester United captain Michael Carrick has been labelled the English John Obi Mikel by the media in the United Kingdom.
The central midfielder, who can also be deployed as an emergency center back, recently announced that he will call time on a 19-year professional career at the end of the 2017-2018 season.
It has been argued that Carrick and Mikel are similar players but the Nigerian outranked the Englishman in some performance stats.
Writing on talkSPORT, Michael Benson said : ''Michael Carrick was a decent player, but he was basically just an English John Obi Mikel.
''Not an English Xavi, not an English Busquets, not an English flippin’ Lothar Matthaus – an English Mikel.''
He added : ''According to Squawka, in every Premier League season dating back to 2012/13 (which is as far back as their website goes) John Obi Mikel had a higher pass completion rate than Michael Carrick.
''There was normally only 1-2 per cent difference between them, but it is still ridiculous for a player who is supposedly so underrated to get outdone on one of his key attributes by Chelsea’s defensive midfielder.
'If you instead compare Mikel with Xavi, the Spaniard tops the Nigerian in every season by about five per cent.''
Former West Ham and Tottenham Hotspur star Carrick joined Manchester United in 2006, in the same year that Chelsea finally signed Mikel, who had been linked with a move to the Red Devils.
Igho Kingsley
Photo Credit : chelseafc.com
The central midfielder, who can also be deployed as an emergency center back, recently announced that he will call time on a 19-year professional career at the end of the 2017-2018 season.
It has been argued that Carrick and Mikel are similar players but the Nigerian outranked the Englishman in some performance stats.
Writing on talkSPORT, Michael Benson said : ''Michael Carrick was a decent player, but he was basically just an English John Obi Mikel.
''Not an English Xavi, not an English Busquets, not an English flippin’ Lothar Matthaus – an English Mikel.''
He added : ''According to Squawka, in every Premier League season dating back to 2012/13 (which is as far back as their website goes) John Obi Mikel had a higher pass completion rate than Michael Carrick.
''There was normally only 1-2 per cent difference between them, but it is still ridiculous for a player who is supposedly so underrated to get outdone on one of his key attributes by Chelsea’s defensive midfielder.
'If you instead compare Mikel with Xavi, the Spaniard tops the Nigerian in every season by about five per cent.''
Former West Ham and Tottenham Hotspur star Carrick joined Manchester United in 2006, in the same year that Chelsea finally signed Mikel, who had been linked with a move to the Red Devils.
Igho Kingsley
Photo Credit : chelseafc.com
Latest News
- Bayer Leverkusen striker Victor Boniface nominated for Bundesliga Team of the Season
- Transfer insider claims Arsenal are 'very interested' in signing Dutch-Nigerian striker Joshua Zirkzee
- Three Nigerians including history-making 16yo set to be named in Bayer's gameday squad v West Ham
- Onanuga scores beauty as Liverpool youth team lose seven-goal thriller to Newcastle
- Introducing Elisha Sulola: The Tottenham Hotspur academy product with Super Falcons potential
- Trabzonspor receive good news on Southampton loanee Onuachu ahead of trip to Kayserispor
- A beginner's guide to placing bets on Bet9ja
- Serie A giants Juventus considering move for Leicester ace Ndidi to bolster their midfield
- The Prodigy who faded: The curious case of Alen Halilovic
- Fabrizio Romano confirms Arsenal are leaning towards signing 36-goal striker over Osimhen
Football News 24/7
News Categories
- Football Betting
- African Players
- Australia/ Asia
- Belgian Championship
- Bundesliga
- Danish Football
- English Premier League
- Nigeria National Teams
- Nigeria Premier League
- Norwegian Football
- Polish Football
- Russian Championship
- Serie A
- Spanish Liga
- Swedish Championship
- Transfer
- Turkish Championship
- Ukrainian Football
- Uncategorized
- Women's Football