Manchester United enjoyed some incredible success in the transfer market under Sir Alex Ferguson, but also missed out on some important additions.
Manchester United are still feeling the effects of Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement, more than a decade on.
Matching Ferguson’s success has been an almost impossible task, and United’s struggles in the transfer market have been prominent.
United have suffered more failures than successes in the market since Ferguson’s retirement, with huge money wasted on high-profile signings.
Ferguson got it right more often than not in the transfer market, but occasionally missed out on some fine players.
The likes of Alan Shearer and Ronaldinho famously slipped through Ferguson’s net, and the same goes for John Obi Mikel…
Nigerian soccer player John Obi Mikel sm
Photo credit should read /AFP via Getty Images
Sir Alex Ferguson missed out on John Obi Mikel
2005 saw United launch a move to sign Nigerian wonderkid John Obi Mikel from Norwegian side Lyn.
The 18-year-old agreed to join United in a four-year deal, with the move set up for Mikel to arrive in January 2006.
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The deal turned into a fiasco as Chelsea claimed they also had an agreement with Mikel, despite the midfielder even being presented as a United player in a press conference.
Ferguson told The Guardian that Mikel was being ‘forced’ to snub United, believing that he and his family had been put under ‘huge pressure’ to choose Chelsea instead.
Ferguson even branded Chelsea ‘disgusting’ for their attempts to prise Mikel away from United.
“I don’t believe it’s true that Mikel doesn’t want to join Manchester United; I believe he has been forced to say it,” said Ferguson. “His family have been put under huge pressure and the circumstances are very sad. The manner in which he and his family have been treated and pressurised is, quite frankly, disgusting,” he added.
The Mikel saga finally came to an end in 2006, as he chose to play for Chelsea rather than United.
Mikel admitted Ferguson’s fury upon hearing that decision, with the then-United boss angry after missing out on the midfielder.
“I went into that office, into that meeting, so everything he was saying I was like, ‘Ah, I’m sorry, Boss, I can’t play for United, it was a mistake, I didn’t mean to sign.’ It was a long table, he was sitting right over there and I was sitting at the edge of the table,” said Mikel.
“He was sitting at the other edge, I could see him go red, he was like, ‘Are you sure you don’t want to play for United, the biggest club in the world?’ He’s like, ‘What is it you want, do you want more money? What is it you want? I’ll give it to you.
“I was like, ‘Sorry, Boss, I can’t play for United, I want to go to Chelsea.’ So, we had about 20 or 30 minutes in the room and he walked off and then that was it,” he added.
That deal cost Chelsea £16million, according to The Guardian, with Lyn paid £4million and United paid £12million.
United cashed in on a player who never even kicked a ball in the famous red shirt, and Ferguson landed another midfielder that summer – Michael Carrick.
Carrick’s move from Tottenham Hotspur was a roaring success, though Jose Mourinho claimed Ferguson knew Mikel was ‘not normal’, hence the battle for his signature.
John Obi Mikel on Sir Alex Ferguson
Mikel went on to become a star at Chelsea, with Ferguson ultimately proven right in his belief that the Nigerian would shine.
Mikel won two Premier Leagues, four FA Cups and two League Cups at Chelsea, as well as winning the Champions League and Europa League in back-to-back seasons.
After almost 400 appearances for Chelsea, Mikel moved on to Tianjin TEDA, Middlesbrough, Trabzonspor, Stoke City and Kuwait SC to finish his career.
Speaking to TalkSPORT in 2024, Mikel admitted that Ferguson has now finally forgiven him for that United transfer fiasco.
Mikel claims that Ferguson believes he is ‘the one that got away’ for United, but praised him for an ‘amazing’ career at Chelsea.
“It’s so good for the boss to finally forgive me after such a long time,” said Mikel.
“He mentioned it [the saga] a couple of times [during his career], it was like, ‘You were the one that got away aren’t you?’ But he’s a lovely, lovely man and 82-years-old, he’s still strong.
“I told him, ‘We want to have you here as much as we can, for as long as we can.’ And he’s like, ‘Listen, you got away but you had an amazing career with Chelsea, so I wouldn’t say anything wrong about that, but I definitely forgive you now,” he added.
United will hope to avoid any similar drama this summer, but Ruben Amorim would surely love to have a player like Mikel in his engine room right now.