Ex-Chelsea star John Obi Mikel brands former team-mate ‘laziest footballer’
Former Chelsea star John Obi Mikel has labelled an ex-team-mate the “laziest football I’ve ever seen”.
The Nigerian represented the Blues with distinction between 2006 and 2017.
He played with plenty of top players during his time at Stamford Bridge… but it was arguably the most talented of the lot that put the least work in.
John Obi Mikel played for Chelsea between 2006 and 2011Credit: Action Images – Reuters
Chatting about his Blues days on radio station Dubai Eye 103.8, Mikel said: “I never knew how much training meant to these guys until I joined Chelsea.
“The way they play in games is the way they train. There was tackles flying in, there was fights at the training ground.
“There’s people proper boxing at the training ground because everybody wants to be in the team come the weekend.
“There is no place for you to like be like, ‘Okay, I don’t want to train today.’
“The only player I saw that did that and got away with it was Eden Hazard.”
Elaborating on the silky Belgian, Mikel added: “Oh, he never trained! He was the laziest footballer I’ve ever seen in my life!
“But come the weekend he produced. He was the Man of the Match.”
Eden Hazard was the ‘laziest footballer’ Mikel has ever seenCredit: AFP or licensors
After being quizzed about why it hasn’t worked out for Hazard at Real Madrid, Mikel admitted that his old pal “likes his food”.
He continued: “I actually think, when you look at him now, he’s lost a little weight.
“But when he was at Chelsea, the night before game, he sat there for like 20 minutes after eating rice pudding. He likes his food.
“But then he goes to bed, wakes up in the morning and produces at 3pm.”
On maverick Hazard’s enigmatic brilliance, Mikel finished: “We just let him do whatever he wanted in training. He stood there, when the training started.
“He plays in one position. He was like, ‘Can you pass me the ball?’ And we’re like, ‘No, we’re not passing you the ball because we’ve been running the whole time.’
Hazard’s 2019 move to Real Madrid hasn’t worked out as plannedCredit: Rex
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“And then he goes in, after training, and just mucks about. But come the weekend, he just produced the goods.”
Mikel, 35, retired last September after a brief spell in Kuwait following a season in the Championship with Stoke.
He won ten major honours during his time at Chelsea, including the Champions League in 2012.
The midfielder also played an integral part in winning the Africa Cup of Nations with Nigeria the following year.