Sad to see him go in a way. He has been a part of the most successful era in the clubs history. I dont think he ever came close fulfilling his potential, but he has been a great servant and a model professional. 

Good luck in China.

My favourite Mikel 'goal' !

 

 

All Mikel jokes aside, you need players like Obi in your squad/team. Best of luck in China to him and thanks for the memorable 6 real goals :)

 

He did his job well at Chelsea and if he gets stick for side/back passing so be it.

Now that he's gone we can all be honest. Everyone of youz loved him

Don't know if this has already been posted but much respect for this.

MIKEL'S OPEN LETTER 

To my Chelsea family,

After ten years, 374 appearances and eleven trophies, it is time to say goodbye.

Where do I begin? I joined Chelsea as a 19-year-old kid from the Norwegian Premier League, making my debut in the Community Shield. I say goodbye as a champion of England, a champion of Europe, and proud captain of my national team.

To play in the Premier League, the best league in the world, is every professional player's ambition. But to play for Chelsea, to become part of the Chelsea family, to work with some of the best managers and players in the world, has truly been an honour.

Every achievement I have been part of in my time at Chelsea holds a special memory: my first goal, against Macclesfield in 2007 (even though there were only five more after that!). The nail-biting end of the 2010 season - securing the title on the last day, scoring a record 103 goals in the process, and winning the FA Cup a week later. Didier's extra time winner against Manchester United in the 2007 FA Cup Final. Beating two of our biggest London rivals in League Cup finals. Winning the Europa League in Amsterdam, with one of the last kicks of the game.

Then there was Munich. We were desperate to make up for the disappointment of the 2008 final, but trailing with two minutes to go, against Bayern, in their own stadium, it seemed that once more luck was against us. But that night, with lions on our chest and the fans behind us, we fought. Up popped Didier, the rest is history, and to date we're still proudly the only team in London with a European Cup.

None of this would have been possible without the wider club's support. To Mr Abramovich, the club's staff, coaches, physios, and to the managers I played under at Chelsea, I want to say thank you.

But my biggest thanks must go to the Blues fans. You brought me into the Chelsea family, you sung my name, and were there with us every step of the way. Thanks to your support, on nights like in Munich, you made the impossible possible.

As you will know, I haven't featured as much this season as I would have liked, and at 29 I still have many years in the game ahead of me. With this in mind, I feel now is the time to seek a new challenge. I'm delighted to be joining Tianjin TEDA in China, at a time that the Chinese Super League is really taking off, and I look forward to helping Tianjin TEDA continue to grow both on and off the pitch in the next few years.

To everyone at Chelsea - goodbye, and thank you. You will always be part of who I am, and I wish you the best of luck. I could not be happier to be saying goodbye with the club back where it belongs - top of the league.

Keep the Blue flag flying high!

Mikel John Obi

 

2 hours ago, dkw said:

I`d rather you f**ked of to China and we got some "Real fans" instead.

I'm not sure we need Real fans. They might be slightly better than Barca fans but still...

Always stood up for him, never understood the few that would slate him. Ten years of service, he's a true pro, I'm sad to see him leave, but good luck to him.

4 hours ago, Liam said:

He's finally found his level. We should have held out for a few quid - enough for a couple of pints of milk perhaps, or some fudge. The footballing equivalent of a clitoris I seem to recall. It's unlikely the door will hit his arse on the way out he'll be moving so slowly. 

Cringe, I hope rival fans don't read this thread, because that is embarrassing, you can forgive the Brexit troll, because he obviously doesn't have a life, but this is just sad.

4 minutes ago, Floyd25 said:

Cringe, I hope rival fans don't read this thread, because that is embarrassing, you can forgive the Brexit troll, because he obviously doesn't have a life, but this is just sad.

Don't worry about Liam, by his own admission he has never spent more than a few quid on a clitoris.

This is the worst week in the history of football. If Mikel doesn't get a testimonial I don't think I'll ever really be able to support this club again.

12 minutes ago, PloKoon13 said:

This is the worst week in the history of football. If Mikel doesn't get a testimonial I don't think I'll ever really be able to support this club again.

On the bright side our workload will be a lot lighter as the amount of clueless individuals we must educate will decline dramatically

7 hours ago, havelschayes said:

f**king legend

"But that night, with lions on our chest and the fans behind us, we fought."

 

Goosebumps right there. Love you John.

And that's that.

 But that night, with lions on our chest and the fans behind us, we fought.  

Henry v  tch

5 hours ago, Liam said:

He's finally found his level. ....................some mumbling nonsense.................. The footballing equivalent of a clitoris I seem to recall. (...that was Liam desperately trying to set up a joke and nobody bit!)

 

1 hour ago, PloKoon13 said:

Don't worry about Liam, by his own admission he has never spent more than a few quid on a clitoris.

 

Actually, Ploks, truly by his own admission, Liam has not a fecking clue what a clitoris is, let alone where to find one.  (I know because his brother told a mutual friend!)

The Mikel thread really brings them out. As poor a judge of a player as Loz thought he was the new Gianfranco Zola or something. 

On that night in Munich with tears streaming down my face I did grudgingly admit that he had a good game. I made that his 5th good game for us at the time. I can't remember another one since. I think it was the emotion of the night and the large breasted German women who had been serving me beer all night that softened my usual razor sharp judgement. 

I wish him success and happiness in the future. He seems like a genuinely nice man and he never let us down.  

 

 

Best of luck to him. Always found him to be steady 6 or 7 out of 10 player, rarely going higher or lower than those numbers. He was in our midfield what Paulo Ferreira was to our right back spot. Solid, but ultimately replaced by someone we felt would offer us a higher score more often. 

I think myself and Plokoon could have been the presidents of his unofficial fan club.

As he stated himself, he never really got the plaudits he deserved because he wasn't scoring goals.

I wish him all the best in China, and thank him sincerely for all of his years at the club.

 

Godspeed, Mikel 

I also love that, in his farewell letter, he managed to throw in "only team in London with a European Cup"

Good luck in China, wish him the best! His performance in Munich is unforgotten. 

31 minutes ago, mad_mac said:

I also love that, in his farewell letter, he managed to throw in "only team in London with a European Cup"

We're also the only team to ever start Mikel and still win a European Cup. A far more impressive statistic if you ask me

good luck mikel !! hope he does not strain his arms lifting his wages !!

Thanks to John Obi especially for the massive defensive performances in the CL.

Always stood up for him, never understood the few that would slate him. Ten years of service, he's a true pro, I'm sad to see him leave, but good luck to him.

Yea, I can testify to that.

Well Mikel, it is time to say goodbye. We are truly grateful for all your years with us and enjoyed every minute you wore our colours.

We wish you all the success in the future, but in our hearts, you'll never be forgotten.

KTBFFH!

Very sad to farewell to him as he's been a loyal servant for the club for a decade, but it was the right move for John and the club.

He never complained, was loved by his teammates in the dressing room and just an all-round great bloke who experienced the dream of playing Chelsea and playing with great players around him.

Not the flashiest player you will ever see, but he always willing to give everything on the field for the team and for that he deserves everyone's respect.

I wish him all the best in China and one day in the future it will be great to see him back at the club in some capacity whether it be coaching or an ambassadorial role.

Could be a great guy to have around the club, especially for future African players who join the club and may find it difficult to initially acclimatise to a new country and new environment

On 6 January 2017 at 10:26, icecoolguy22 said:

I reckon he's the longest serving player right now apart from JT, good player regardless what critics think of him. He's been involved in all the success in the past decade, wish him all the best and respect!

Yes, he was the second longest serving player behind JT before he left. Now that honour goes to Ivan.

It's weird that Obi left on the day he scored his first ever goal for the club ten years ago in the third round FA Cup clash against Macclesfield.

Edited January 7, 20179 yr by Jezz