"We're about to play against Lionel Messi and Argentina" - Ex-Chelsea star explains what Roman Abramovich did when his dad was kidnapped
Former Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel has revealed how the club and former owner Roman Abramovich supported him when his father was kidnapped during the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
John Obi Mikel was a Tianjin TEDA player in 2018 when he captained Nigeria at the FIFA World Cup in Russia. With the team facing elimination after a win and a defeat in their opening two games, they were to face Argentina in their final group game.
Before the game, the midfielder was informed that his father had been kidnapped, not for the first time. Speaking on his ObiOne podcast, he revealed that he faced a dilemma of whether to inform the team or not before opting against it, so as not to demoralize them. He said:
"Just knowing that my dad has been kidnapped again was absolutely heartbreaking. 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?
"But we're about to go into the biggest game of our lives. We're about to play against Lionel Messi and Argentina. So I thought about it. I was like, okay, you know what? I'm going to keep quiet. I called my mum and my brothers, everybody was crying on the phone."
Nigeria went on to lose the match 2-1 and were eliminated from the tournament, and the midfielder then made the announcement. He revealed that Roman Abramovich contacted him almost immediately, offering to help him get his father out.
"Chelsea were very supportive, I remember Roman [Abramovich] 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.'"
The midfielder turned down the offer and instead paid a sizeable ransom to secure the release of his father from captivity.
Former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich built up a great rapport with the senior members of the club's squad during his time at the club. He famously lent his yacht to Frank Lampard for winning the club's Player of the Season award in 2005, according to the Englishman's autobiography.
Mikel was at Chelsea from 2006 until 2017, with Abramovich personally leading the charge to sign him as a teenager from Norway. The midfielder became a stalwart at Chelsea, winning nearly every trophy on offer.
Chelsea keen to return to Roman Abramovich era glory days
The invasion of Ukraine by Russia was a major turning point in the history of Chelsea as a football institution. Their owner Roman Abramovich, a Russian oligarch, was forced to sell the club.
Abramovich could hardly have been less satisfied with his time as owner of Chelsea, having seen the club become one of the biggest in the world. The Blues won the FIFA Club World Cup, the only missing trophy in their cabinet, months before the forced separation.
Chelsea look like a different side from the one that was run so efficiently by Roman Abramovich between 2003 and 2022. The Blues need to turn things around at the club, and manager Mauricio Pochettino is at the helm of affairs. He will undoubtedly look to make the side one of the best in Europe once again.