Chelsea icon Mikel reveals he fell out with Conte over opting to represent Nigeria in Olympic Games

Chelsea icon John Obi Mikel has revealed that he was forced to quit the Stamford Bridge outfit by the then manager Antonio Conte over his decision to represent Nigeria in the 2016 Olympic Games.

It was a competition Mikel desperately wanted to feature in as he had previously played for the country at the U17, U20 and senior World Cups and the midfielder has stressed that he had the blessing of Chelsea higher-ups to link up with the Dream Team VI.

Upon his return from Brazil, where he won a bronze medal with Nigeria, Conte froze him out of the matchday squads both for the Premier League and Carabao Cup, so he didn't think twice about joining a new team few months later when the transfer market reopened.

"This guy who has just walked in the door for five minutes is telling me I had to choose," Mikel said to the Athletic.

"He was saying, ‘If you do that, you won’t be a part of this team’.

"I spoke to the club and told them that I wanted to go.

"The club respected me because of what I had done for them and how long I’d been there.

"So off I went and I felt punished for that. I came back and I didn’t make the squad. I was never in the squad list on match days again."

In a ten-and-a-half-year association with Chelsea, Mikel recorded 372 appearances, winning the Premier League twice, the FA Cup four times, the League Cup twice, and the Champions League and Europa League too.