John Obi Mikel: The Secret United Transfer Turned Kidnapping NIGHTMARE

That Peter Crouch Podcast

Tall or Nothing

Sports, Football

4.6 • 2.3K Ratings

🗓️ 18 June 2025

⏱️ 67 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

On this week’s episode of That Peter Crouch Podcast, Pete, Chris, and Sids are joined by Nigerian football icon John Obi Mikel—AFCON & Champions League winner, Olympic medalist, and a legend of Chelsea’s golden era.

Mikel opens up about everything: from the infamous tackle Crouchy dished out on him, to going toe-to-toe with Roy Keane in Manchester, Mourinho’s ruthless tactics, and why he turned down Manchester United after signing with them.

The lads dive into Mikel’s explosive transfer saga—complete with missing persons reports and undercover meetings with Roman Abramovich—his unfiltered take on the corruption in African football, and the moment he personally funded a flight for Nigeria’s Olympic squad to keep their dreams alive.

You’ll hear stories about Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard, Mo Salah, Kevin De Bruyne, and why Mourinho made Salah cry. This one’s full of heavyweight moments from one of the coolest heads ever to grace a football pitch.

Chumbawamba

00:00 – Introduction

03:00 – Power of podcasting and reconnecting with football friends

00:04:00 – Peter Crouch apologises for the worst tackle he’s ever made

00:08:00 – Mikel reflects on the brutal Chelsea vs Liverpool battles

00:12:00 – Training ground fights at Chelsea and Kalou vs Ballack bust-up

00:16:00 – Mourinho's demand: “Defend your teammates—or else”

00:18:00 – Mourinho breaks Mo Salah: “He started crying in the dressing room”

00:20:00 – “Mourinho sent me to train with the reserves”

00:26:00 – Mikel’s kidnap story and smuggling out of Norway

00:33:00 – Roman Abramovich’s undercover meeting with Mikel

00:35:00 – Winning AFCON for Nigeria and the pressure from the entire country

00:43:00 – “I paid for our Olympic team’s flight myself”

00:46:00 – Mikel’s Champions League final: “I bossed that midfield”

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This podcast is part of the ACAST Creator Network.
0:04.2	This podcast is sponsored by Beyond Hospitality,
0:07.6	who are the official hospitality provider
0:10.0	for the FIFA Club World Cup 2025.
0:13.2	Now, boys, I don't know if you've heard,
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0:22.6	across the United States.
0:24.0	That's right, Crouchy.
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0:33.6	iconic players and teams in person, including Chelsea FC, Manchester City, Rail Madrid,
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0:44.6	And we invite you to make it epic with match ticket inclusive official hospitality.
0:49.0	Multiple tiers of hospitality experiences are available across 12 venues and 63 matches, including the final at MetLife
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1:10.8	or getting a group of family and friends together. For anyone looking to head over to the US to watch
1:16.5	the final rounds of the tournament, New York, New Jersey will be hosting both semifinals and the final.
1:22.5	A brilliant location to catch some of the best club football this summer and enjoy all New York City has to offer.
1:30.0	That was my New York accent there, actually.
	...

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