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Super Eagles legend Mikel Obi says Ferguson was not happy that he chose Chelsea over Manchester United.
Former Nigerian captain Mikel Obi has narrated his meeting with Sir Alex Ferguson.
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Mikel and Ferguson
When John Obi-Mikel revealed that he had intended to join Chelsea rather than Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson became enraged.
In an insane transfer saga, the former Blues star chose to join United's Premier League rivals instead of honoring his pre-contract.
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When Mikel was younger, he briefly trained at United with Roy Keane, Paul Scholes, and Nicky Butt.
In 2005, he signed a pre-contract agreement with the United while with Norwegian side Lyn.
He was even spotted wearing the Manchester United home jersey for a press conference that he attended.
Mikel Obi explains turnng down Manchester United for Chelsea
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However, Chelsea had sent him to Lyn, and they intervened to complete a deal for their man in 2006 after learning that he had supposedly joined United.
Mikel shared the incredible tale of the move and Sir Alex Ferguson's reaction in an exclusive interview with talkSPORT on White and Jordan.
He said, "Sir Alex thought he got me, yeah," he explained.
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"I did the press conference and it was everywhere. Then obviously Roman [Abramovich], everybody at Chelsea saw it and they were like, 'What's going on here? We've been looking at this player for two or three years now, what's happening here?'
"Obviously they sent my agent down to Lyn and then he came down to Norway, and then for a couple of hours I went missing. He took me out from my apartment where I used to live with a couple of my friends.
"Then it took me about a year, I couldn't play for either United or Chelsea because FIFA was like, 'OK we need to resolve this.' So I went to FIFA and I was like, 'I didn't mean to sign for United.'"
Meeting with Ferguson
"I did have a meeting with Fergie at the FA office in London because the FA also wanted to get involved and was like, 'We need to get this player playing, he's a young player, he needs to play football.'
"It was just me and him in a room, yeah that was feisty that. I had my agent sitting outside and he was like, 'When you go into this meeting, because he's going to try to brainwash, everything he says, just make sure you say no.'
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"So I went into that office, into that meeting, so everything he was saying I was like, 'Ah, I'm sorry boss, I can't play for United, it was a mistake, I didn't mean to sign.' It was a long table, he was sitting right over there and I was sitting at the edge of the table.
"He was sitting at the other edge, I could see him go red, he was like, 'Are you sure you don't want to play for United, the biggest club in the world?' He's like, 'What is it you want, do you want more money? What is it you want, I'll give it to you.'
"I was like, 'Sorry boss, I can't play for United, I want to go to Chelsea.' So we had about 20 or 30 minutes in the room and he walked off and then that was it.
"He walked away, and then the next couple of weeks he was like, 'OK, well I'm not going to let him go for free,' so [Chelsea paid] £14million to United and £4m to Lyn."
Mikel’s explanation about his choice comes after an interesting podcast episode with Frank Lampard reviewing their battle with Barcelona in the Champions League.
Mikel's transfer to Chelsea paid off well, as he went on to win four FA Cups, the Champions League, and two Premier League championships.
He explained why he decided to join the Blues over United after making 372 appearances for them in all competitions.
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