UCL: Ex-Nigeria captain Mikel Obi returns to Chelsea in September

Retired Nigerian midfielder John Mikel Obi is set to make a dramatic return to Chelsea, seven years after he left the London club.

The 36-year-old moved to England after a stellar performance for Nigeria at the 2005 U-20 World Cup in the Netherlands, where his country lost in the final to Argentina, and also finished as the tournament’s second-best player behind Lionel Messi.

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His impressive performance at the tournament caught the attention of English giants Manchester United and Chelsea, with the former claiming they had already completed his signing before a twist in the transfer saw him join Chelsea for £16m in June 2006.

The then 19-year-old teenager would go on to spend over a decade with the Blues, winning the Premier League twice, the FA Cup four times, the League Cup twice, and the Champions League and Europa League, too, before departing the club in November 2016.

However, Mikel is set to put on the West London side’s jersey again after the club announced him among the players from their maiden Champions League victory in 2012 to be taking part in the Chelsea Legends vs Bayern Munich Legends match at Stamford Bridge in September.

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Mikel was arguably the standout player for the Blues on that historic night in Munich and will join fellow 2012 heroes John Terry, Florent Malouda, Salomon Kalou, and Michael Essien, as well as manager Robert Di Matteo for the game in honor of Gianluca Vialli.

The former Italian striker Vialli died from pancreatic cancer in January this year at the age of 58 after representing Chelsea as both a player and a manager.

Mikel was part of the squad that won Nigeria the third Africa Cup of Nations(AFCON) trophy in 2013, and the Bronze medal at the 2016 Olympics in Rio.