Trabzonspor Sacks Mikel Obi, Terminates His Contract

By Akinwale Kasali

Turkish Club Side, Trabzonspor Football Club, has sacked former Super Eagles Captain, John Mikel Obi, for his failure to play for the Club in their League Match against Istanbul Bakasekhir over the weekend.

Mikel was a second half substitute for the Club, but he bluntly refused to play the match.

The former Chelsea Football Club midfielder had queried why the Turkish League wasn’t suspended like other Leagues in Europe following the Outbreak of the deadly epidemic, Coronavirus.

Mikel had over the weekend stated that his health and life are more important than Football, imploring the Turkish Football Association to call off the League to combat the COVID-19 disease.

In a statement by the Club, it said: “The professional football player agreement between our company and John Obi Mikel on 30.06.2019 start date 31.05.2021 has been mutually terminated.

“With a mutual termination agreement, the football player gave up all his forward-looking receivables,” the statement read.

Mikel joined the Turkish club as a free agent on a two-year deal last summer, after parting ways with Chinese Super League Club Side, Tianjin Teda Football Club.

The former Lyn Oslo Football Club of Norway midfielder joined the Club immediately after the 2019 African Cup of Nations tournament in Egypt, where he Captained the Super Eagles to a third place finish.

The 2005 Silver Most Valuable Player of the Under-20 FIFA World Cup in Holland behind World Best Player, Lionel Messi, joined Trabzonspor after parting ways with England Championship side, Middlesrough Football Club.