John Obi Mikel insists that he will not welcome any offer to return to Trabzonspor after he departed the Turkish top flight earlier this week due to their coronavirus outbreak treated sensationally.
A few days after criticizing the Turkish football authorities for not suspending the season despite the outbreak of coronavirus, the former Chelsea midfielder leaves Trabzonspor.
Last season, Mikel only joined the club as a free agent, penning a two-year contract, thus splitting ways through mutual consent with the Super Lig side.
His post on Instagram earlier this week read: There is more to life than football. I do not feel comfortable and don’t want to play football in this situation. Everyone should be home with their families and loved ones at this critical time. Season should be canceled as the world is facing such turbulent times.
Since then, Turkey’s Sports Minister Muharrem Kasapoglu has indefinitely postponed matches, bowing to pressure from players and coaches after several other countries have called off sporting events.
But Mikel and his family have now returned to London, vowing not to return to Turkey.
The Nigerian told The Athletic: “They were really upset about the whole thing. I was told to meet with the president in his office one-on-one.
“He asked me to take it down (his statement). I told him I wasn’t going to do that. It’s my opinion. This is how I feel. We live in a free world. I have freedom of speech. I can express my opinion.
“I wanted to win the league too but at this point in time, we have to think about what is more important: to save peoples’ lives.
“I want to help in any way that I can to defeat this virus. For us to be out there playing; I don’t think we are helping the global situation. I don’t feel it is right for us to play football.
“I told them I wanted to go home. They said: ‘If you go home, you’re not coming back.’ I said: ‘OK, I’m going home.”
Galatasaray striker Radamel Falcao offered his support to Mikel after the social media statement, saying that “life is more important than football.”
Yet the decision of Mikel led to criticism from some fans of Trabzonspor, with the girlfriend of the midfielder preferring to post a surprising message that she got on social media.
An anonymous person, who threatened the player, responded to her Instagram post confirming Mikel would be returning home immediately.
Action has come to a halt across Europe’s top five leagues to help prevent the spread of the virus and the domestic strategy has now followed suit in Turkey.
