Fans blast ex-Chelsea star, Mikel Obi over claims of influencing Nigerian support for Chelsea

Former Chelsea star Mikel John Obi has faced backlash from fans following his recent comments about his influence in garnering Nigerian support for Chelsea.

In a recent episode of his ‘Obi One’ podcast, the ex-midfielder asserted that Chelsea's popularity in Africa surged due to his presence at the club alongside Didier Drogba. He further claimed that in Nigeria, this influence was passed on to Victor Moses.

"In Africa, they started to support Chelsea mostly because of me and Didier Drogba," Obi remarked. "In Nigeria, Chelsea became popular because of me and then later because of Victor Moses."

However, many Chelsea supporters on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) were quick to dispute Obi's claims, pointing instead to the contributions of former Nigerian left-back Celestine Babayaro.

One fan tweeted, “As far as I know, Celestine Babayaro was the first Nigerian to play for Chelsea when he joined the London club in April 1997, aged 18, for £2.25 million, which was a record club signing at the time.”

Another commented, “Shut up, Mikel. Where were you when Celestine Babayaro was marking Figo and Rivaldo, and beating Barcelona hands down? I knew Chelsea because of Babayaro.”

Similarly, another user added, “Mikel didn’t make Chelsea popular. Back in school days, hostels would shut down and boys would trek miles to viewing centers to watch Babayaro’s Chelsea against Barcelona. Chelsea was already popular in Nigeria then, with Ruud Gullit, and later Vialli as coach before Ranieri came.”

Despite the criticism, a few supporters agreed with Obi's viewpoint. One fan stated, “Not far from the truth. Most Chelsea fans joined during the Roman Abramovich era. Just about when Drogba, then Mikel joined. Stop all these Celestine Babayaro days stories. Na clips una watch.”

Mikel Obi was part of Chelsea's vintage squad that clinched the club’s first-ever Champions League title in 2012. During his tenure at Chelsea, the former Super Eagles skipper also won the Europa League, Premier League, and FA Cup, among other trophies.

The 37-year-old retired from professional football on September 27, 2022.