Nigerians woke up Friday morning to the news that their beloved skipper, Mikel Obi, has joined the chariots making the move to the Chinese Super League.
While the whole of the African continent was busy keeping tabs on the 2016 Glo/CAF awards, the 29-year-old was reportedly sealing a three-year deal with Tianjin TEDA.
Mikel who has had a trophy-laden career at Chelsea will earn around £140,000 – almost twice of what he received at Stamford Bridge.
But is joining the bandwagon to the Asian powerhouse the best move for Mikel?
Here are four facts which suggest he might have made the wrong choice.
- He’s just 29
Bar the South Americans, many other top footballers who move to China are approaching the twilight of their career and in need of a solid retirement package. Carlos Tevez, Obafemi Martins, Demba Ba among others are in their 30s compared to Mikel who is just 29. The Nigerian certainly in his prime still has loads of football in him and a move to another European side would have been more beneficial football wise.
- FIFA World Cup in sight
Mikel’s move to China will definitely affect his chances of captaining the Super Eagles to the FIFA World Cup finals. Russia 2018 is just around the corner with the Eagles in pole position to qualify for their sixth Mundial. However, the 29-year-old might not even make the trip not to talk of captaining the team considering the young lads coming through such as Wilfred Ndidi, Etim Esiti and Oghenekaro Etebo.
- Wage nothing compared to others
When a top player moves to China, first thing on the minds of many is how much they will earn. This is because the CSL has proven to offer astronomical wages – such that no other league can compete with. But shockingly Mikel’s deal isn’t as tantalising as others who have joined the Asian nation. As a matter of fact, the 29-year-old on £120K weekly is one of the lowest earners. The likes of Tevez (£808K), Oscar (£400K) and compatriot, Martins (£200), amongst others earn higher than the ex-Chelsea man.
- Who knows Tianjin TEDA?
Even if Mikel wanted a Chinese club, won’t he had settled for the more popular and successful ones? Tianjin TEDA is definitely not among the elite in China and aren’t a popular name either in Europe. According to Forbes, the club is ranked eight richest in the country trailing the likes of Guangzhou Evergrande, Beijing Gouan, Shanghai SIPG and Shanghai Shenhua. They finished 10th last season meaning Mikel might struggle in the league.
