John Obi Mikel opened up on a heartbreaking time during the 2018 World Cup. His father was kidnapped just hours before the all important game against Argentina.
He revealed that he got a call from his brother just 2 hours before the game, saying that their father had been kidnapped.
Mikel stayed strong in the situation and still played the match. His team Nigeria eventually lost the game 2-1, but his commitment was commendable.
This wasn’t the first time!
This was in fact the second time Mikel’s father had been kidnapped. The first time was in 2011 when he was held for 10 days.
The Chelsea legend John Obi Mikel opened up on TalkSPORT on how he received a phone call from family just two hours before that all-important match in the 2018 World Cup.
He said: “That was absolutely shocking. The first time was shocking, but the second time was even more shocking because I was about to go into one of the biggest games of my life.
“I couldn’t leave the room, I couldn’t tell anybody. I was alone in the room for about 30 minutes, thinking what am I going to do? Shall I tell the manager? Shall I tell my teammates? Or should I make an announcement?
“I took time on my own and I decided that I’m going to go out there and perform. I’m going to go out there and play.”
John later revealed that when he told his teammates and manager after the match, some of them were in tears.
John Obi Mikel says he can relate with Luis Diaz
Luis Diaz is going through a similar situation at the moment with both his parents kidnapped in Colombia. But even in this tough time, he is giving his all for the team.
Mikel continued: “I can relate to Luis Diaz and what he’s going through. This kind of situation is where you absolutely have nothing to do.
“And I’m happy to see that Liverpool are very supportive. I must give credit to Liverpool for what they’re doing.”
John further added that Chelsea and then owner, Roman Abramovich were very supportive at that time. He added: “I remember Roman saying do you want me to send people over? Because I know if I send people over, I can get your dad out. I was like, how are you going to do this?
“He said don’t worry about that. Just let me, if you want that option, I can do it.”
In the end, John Obi Mikel had to pay a lot of money to release his father.
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