Former Super Eagles captain Mikel Obi has accused CAF of denying him the African Footballer of the Year Award in 2013.
In an interview with Obi One Podcast, the former Chelsea player said that he was wrongfully denied the prestigious award.
Obi, 36, revealed that, unlike Yaya Toure, who won nothing, he won three tournaments but did not win the African prize.
The former Chelsea midfielder was instrumental in both the Blues winning the UEFA Europa League and Nigeria winning the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
“In 2013, it was my trophy (CAF Award) to be won. I won the Africa Cup of Nations, I won the Champions League, the year before and the Europa League the year 2013.
“And Yaya only won… he didn’t win anything and coming into the ceremony, I thought I was winning, the information was that I was going to win it, I was told by CAF I was going to win it,” Mikel Obi said.
Mikel began his career with Plateau United before joining Norwegian club Lyn in 2004 at the age of 17. He made a contentious move to English club Chelsea in 2006 after Manchester United claimed they had already signed him.
He was with Chelsea for 11 years until joining Tianjin TEDA in 2017. He returned to England on a short-term agreement with Middlesbrough after two years in China, before joining Trabzonspor on a free transfer in July 2019.
Mikel returned to England in August 2020 to join Stoke City. He appeared 91 times for Nigeria between 2005 and 2019, scoring six goals in that period.
