Former Nigeria midfielder John Mikel Obi has sparked controversy in the football world since retiring in 2022.

Through his ObiOne podcast show, Mikel Obi has made several provocative statements, ruffling the feathers of some big names in the sport.

This article will delve into some of the most contentious comments made by the former Chelsea midfielder.

Labelling Sunday Oliseh worst manager

The former Chelsea midfielder labelled former Super Eagles coach Sunday Oliseh as the worst coach he has worked under while speaking on his ObiOne Podcast Show.

Mikel Obi had a fall out with the former Borussia Dortmund midfielder during his short spell as head coach of the Super Eagles.

“He [Oliseh] had absolutely no clue of how a manager is. He was a fantastic guy in his playing days, but as a coach, he was very terrible. He absolutely had no clue of what he was doing,” Mikel said.

“The players never understood anything he was doing, and he did not know what he was doing. He was just confused because he just came in and destroyed the team togetherness.

“His excuse when he got fired was that the people and FA did voodoo on him not to succeed. He was easily the worst manager I played under.

Crediting himself for Chelsea's popularity in Nigeria

The former Super Eagles midfielder claimed that the Chelsea fan base in Africa grew due to his presence at the club alongside Didier Drogba. He added 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."

This remark was met with widespread backlash from Nigerians on social media.

Cristiano Ronaldo is not among the 10 greatest Premier League players

One of Mikel Obi's most contentious statements was his alleged claim that Cristiano Ronaldo wouldn't even rank among the top 10 players in Premier League history.

However, the 37-year-old former midfielder later backtracked, apologizing to the Portuguese superstar and disputing the accuracy of the reports, claiming they were false and misleading.

"I apologize for any confusion caused by this statement. We would like to clarify that John Mikel Obi did not make the statement claiming that 'Cristiano Ronaldo is not even top 10 greatest in Premier League history,'” Mikel stated in a statement.

It is unfair for Modric, Kroos, Carvajal and Nacho to win 5 UCL titles

Mikel Obi sparked another controversy when he suggested that it was unfair for Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, Dani Carvajal, and Nacho Fernandez to have won five UEFA Champions League titles, implying that they are not the best players in their respective positions.

He made these remarks ahead of Real Madrid's Champions League match against Borussia Dortmund at Wembley on June 1.

“When you see players like Kroos, Nacho, Carvajal, and Modric getting 5 UCL trophies, it’s a bit unfair because these players are not even close to being the greatest in their positions,” Mikel said.

“It shows that trophies can be misleading. I can name 10 players in the same positions who are greater than these players.”