CHELSEA face the most severe sanctions ever imposed on a football club if FIFA investigators find that anyone representing the Premiership champions attempted to persuade John Obi Mikel to turn his back on Manchester United.
The bizarre transfer saga involving the Nigerian wonderkid, which has led to the full-scale probe by football's world governing body, began on April 29 - one week after Obi's 18th birthday. That was the day the midfielder agreed to move to Old Trafford on a four-year contract.
A day earlier, the Reds had negotiated a transfer fee with Obi's Norwegian club FC Lyn Oslo, which was widely reported at 10 million euros.
As part of that deal, the two clubs agreed that Obi would continue to develop his fledgling professional career at Lyn Oslo before moving to Manchester permanently at a later stage once his work-permit qualifications had been met.
On May 11, the youngster described by the Lyn coach Henning Berg as "better than Steven Gerrard at the same age" was accompanied to a cup tie between Lyn and Klemetstrud by the agent John Shittu, who had previously arranged for Obi to train at Chelsea through his Sports Entertainment and Media Group plc.
When the highly-rated teenage midfielder was approached by reporters after that cup tie, he said that he no longer wanted to move to Old Trafford. He claimed that he had been "coerced" into signing his pre-contract document with the Reds - and that he now wished to join Chelsea.
His father, Mikel senior, also said that his son had made a mistake in agreeing to join the United and he now wanted his son to pursue a career in England at Stamford Bridge.
On May 12, Obi failed to report for training with his Norwegian club. The following day, United reported Chelsea to the Premier League, asking the body to investigate whether Chelsea had played a part in the youngster's sudden change of heart.
London
Five days later, Obi and three other young Lyn players were in London in the company of the agent Shittu.
Within 24 hours, both United and Lyn Oslo had lodged an official complaint with FIFA. On May 21, Obi failed to report at the Flying Eagles camp in Holland for the Terborg Tournament.
Nothing was seen or heard of him until he reported for duty with the Nigerian Under-21 team earlier this week. He has not contacted any official at Old Trafford to confirm that he intends to honour the agreement he signed with the Reds.
However, fresh evidence has now emerged that an inquiry needs to be carried out into why Obi, who had signed a pre-contract document, had an apparent change of heart about moving to United within 12 days.
Whether Obi was "persuaded" to change his mind about his pending move to Old Trafford is part of the inquiry.
Threats
Norwegian newspapers reported on May 10 that the player had received death threats and had gone into hiding at a secluded hotel near Oslo.
M.E.N. Sport has obtained a transcript of an interview Obi gave to Nigerian reporters Samm Audu and Colin Udoh only two days after he agreed his four-year contract with United. The interview was subsequently printed in the football magazine Kick Off.
And in that interview, the sought-after youngster made it clear that he was delighted to be joining United. "I am really happy to get a chance to play for a big club like United," he said. "My family and I thank God for everything. It is a dream come true for a kid like me who has always loved football.
"Hopefully I should be with United by January next year, because I have not played the required 75 per cent of Nigeria's international games in the last two years.
"United are a very big club and I like everything about them. I have been to the club twice, once before the 2003 FIFA Under-17 tournament in Finland and then again after the competition. I found the players to be very friendly.
"My favourite shirt number is 10 but, at Old Trafford, Ruud van Nistelrooy has that number.
"I would have also loved the number 20 but that belongs to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer so I've had to settle for 21. I hope it brings me luck.
"I don't have a contract with Chelsea. I only trained with them for two or three weeks. I am happy with the way the transfer was handled, although I know that Chelsea will not be happy. But both United and Chelsea are big clubs and will therefore find a way to solve whatever differences they may have.
"Chelsea are a big club with big money and they've just won the title. Any player would love to play for them but, all the same, I am happy with my deal with Manchester United."
United's chief executive David Gill admits to being baffled and disappointed by Obi's dramatic U-turn on his "dream" move to Old Trafford.
"We have been monitoring Obi's career since we saw him playing in the Nigerian Under-17 side in 2003," he said. "When he signed his agreement with us he was all smiles. He looked really pleased to be joining us.
"Everything about his transfer was done legally and in accordance with FIFA rules. We did everything strictly by the book. We dealt with his club first, settled on the fee, and then we talked to the player.
"The situation is very clear. He is still contracted to Lyn Oslo and no other club can approach Obi without his club's permission."
Because of the international aspect, the English Premier League have passed over United's request for an investigation to FIFA, who must now decide whether Chelsea had any influence over Obi's change of heart.
Although the talented young midfielder appended his signature to a pre-contract document rather than a contract itself, the agreement he made with United is legally binding. Obi has no option now but to report for duty at Old Trafford when he is cleared to work in this country.
Having already received the first instalment of the player's transfer fee from the Reds, FC Lyn Oslo cannot give permission to any other club to speak to Obi with a view to signing him.
After their highly-publicised and costly breaches of football regulations last season, Chelsea will be only too aware that if they are deemed by FIFA to have made an illegal approach to Obi, they will almost certainly start the defence of their Premiership title in August with a massive points deduction as well as a fine of such proportions that it would make a dent in Roman Abramovich's bank balance.
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Feel sorry for this lad, I'd say he's been scared into changing his mind. But if he can make a go of it at Chelsea (which I doubt he'd get near their first 11) then good luck to him. I hope United use the money put a side for him to go for Haelstad instead.
NO WAY HE SHOULD GO TO CHEALSEA . HE IS OUR PLAYER AND EVEN THOUGH THAT
UTD STEAL OBI UNDER THE NOSE OF CHEALSEA SO BE IT .AT THE END OF THE DAY LYN
HAS GOT THE FIRST CHUNK OF THE MONEY AND BELIEVE
THIS TIME CHEALSEA WILL LOSE BIG TIME . IT'S EITHER THEY WILL TRY TO MAKE A DEAL WITH US OR THEY WILL GET SOME POINT DEDUCTED .
BECAUSE I DID READ THAT INTERVIEW MAGAZINE THIS WAS NOT A GUY THAT WAS ANY AMOUNT OF PRESSURE WHEN HE SIGNED FOR UTD
good, i hope chelsea get what they deserve. dock points, fines, banned from transfer windows for a season. really whatever it takes. ashley cole, arnesen, mikel...when will it stop? never unless fifa clamp down on them hard and fast. chelsea cannot walk on water.
Feel really sorry for this guy. The story is very strange all round and it is hard to see any answer other than that his agents, Chelsea or both have bullied him into making his U-turn. I hope that FIFA act with as much back bone as they threaten to against whoever is found to be at fault.
As long as his U-turn has been forced, he should still come to Utd. there will be plenty of time for him to find his feet and for this to all be forgotten.
I feel sorry for the lad too. But he needs to tell the truth. He can't get away with such conflicting public statements. Chelski need to have the book thrown at them and the only way to do that is a full and frank investigation into exactly what happened after Mikel looked so chuffed to be handed the United shirt. Whether his head was turned by money or threats there's something rotten about this whole thing and it can't just be swept under the carpet. After Cole, Arnesen and Mikel, Chelski have made it clear that they don't think the rules for most other clubs don't apply to them. If you take a look at how Abramovitch made his billions it's pretty obvious that this attitude comes right from the top. Let's hope FIFA have the balls to do what's right.
I assume that all will be ok eventually. Lets face it we are talking about Abramovich here, who has behaved wonderfully well since acquiring Chelsea. Unlike Glazer who is the devil re-incarnate. At least according to he MEN anyway.
If Chelski are guilty of this they should be relegated to the Championship. What a disgrace if its true. Swindon got relegated for financial irregularities. This is much worse, they think their above the law.
Well lets get one thing right here, he now states he does not wish to play for United so I dont want him,Rio is another searching for more money with Chelsea,The time has come to tag these players so clubs can keep an eye on them.Also now players contracts should be paying on performance.Loose and they get nothing draw and they get half pay win full pay thenextra for more goals.
Chelsea really are showing true "thatcherite" charecteristics;and there conduct off the field this season has been nothing short of scandolous! Along with crystal palace chairman i hope they are brought to heel,it is beyond arrogance and in this case there behavoiur is quite sinister;maybe abrahovitch connections in the russki mafia have made the boy " an offer him and his family can't refuse"! joking aside they are fast becoming a law unto themselves which must be checked for the good of the game in geneal.
how many times r chelski going 2 get away with such appauling behaviour? they must think that the f.a board is run by a bunch of donkeys. fifa MUST come down on them with the FULL FORCE of the laws that all footballing clubs around the globe adhere to. their constant ridiculing of fellow clubs shows lack of respect from all concerned. no warnings or petty fines will be accepted by the footballing community,they must be dealt with severely so future signings will be done in full confidence that the laws of fifa & local alike will be adhered to. enough is enough. FIFA, we will be watching.
I can't help thinking that if this was caused by the lure of more money then FIFA should use this as the final reason for a salary cap. I'm talking a worldwide maximum that most of the top clubs can afford. This would stop many players moving for money reasons. If you want to take it a step further then have a lower maximum limit to bring as many teams as possible back in with a chance of actually winning something. Wouldn't the Premiership be great if it was contested on a more even playing field (gets a bit boring with just 3 teams). Suddenly the Alarm clock sounds and I realise I've been dreaming. If Only.
Its not surprising to see Chelskis tactics. 1. Peter Kenyon. He was taken from Man Utd. 2. Ashley Cole. THis has caused Arsenal more problems than Chelski. 3. Frank Arnesen. Spurs seem to be taking the easy way out if they are seeking compensation. ITS ABOUT TIME CHELSKI WERE PUNISHED for riding roughshod over their rivals. This Obi Mikel saga is just another reason why Chelski should face a massive fine and points deduction, I think they should be banned from trading players for at least a year. Lets hope FIFA see sense and punish them. Also I think that a salary cap would be in the best interests of the game, players would know that they could not go and earn more money elsewhere. It wold also help the clubs to become more profitable maybe.
The longer Chelski and their role model - Real Madrid - are allowed to get away with it the worse it is for football. Of course the authorities wouldn't comment on such irrelevance as death threats, intimidation and extortion. Of course if Rio forgets to pee in a cup or Rooney swears at the crowd and they're all over it
They should be made to play in the scottish premier for two seasons,whilst Rangers should move to the English premier it will be suitable punishment fo Chelsea and an opportunity to see If they can hack it in England.
Good comments, Joe. I agree. IF FIFA doesn't hand down harsh, harsh penalties then they run the risk of losing the legitimacy they cling so tightly to. The league rules are becoming a joke and slaps on the wrist via financial penalties to somebody with the $ of Abromovich has the effect of pissing in the ocean and expecting the tide to rise. Points,points,points. Is FIFA losing the plot or not? Watch-Things will get much worse in the next couple years if they don't make a stand.
Everyone I speak to think Chelski a DISGRACE to football and will destroy football in this country let alone europe. Action must be taken now THROW them out of the champions league and DEDUCT 10 POiNTS for next season if as seems likely they are guilty yet again.
PS I remain convinced they were "doing an Ashley Cole" to RIO.
I cannot listen to this Chleskov stories anymore!!! They can do whatever they like to... This has to come to an end. They should be banned from PL football and send to Iceland or the Faroe Islands.. Damned Ruskis
He's legally tied to UNITED I think and it seems an astonishing u-turn that he has made.We must wait for the story to come out,but if Chelsea aren't relegated on how it appears I'd be surprised!
Like everybody else who has the game of football at heart, I hope Chelsea finally get what they deserve. It's time FIFA shows the world that in the world of football money IS NOT everything.
What a load of tosh! This time Mr Kenyon has cocked up he lost Man U Ronaldiho and Robben with his insider knowledge this time he has lost out as the lad is a Man U player having signed on the dotted line! In the picture shown around the world when he signed we all saw he was displaying his MU shirt and was all smiles can you see any tears in his eyes in that picture? If he now wants Chelsea the best thing to do is sell him to them B#10M
Best Mark II, they definately are doing a " Ashley Cole" to Rio, they dont need him. Never the less, the dimwit is falling for it!!
Throw the book at em coz we,d NEVER do anything like this would we !!!!!!!!!!!
Hey red tom, what have we in Iceland or our good friends in Faroe Islands done to deserve this mafia club sent over to us? You english just clean up your own mess.
Are you panicking about finishing third for a third year running already. Have you no sense of grace
i think it is funny for man u fans to be talking about cheslea to be morally currupt. you guys are the biggest tappers in football. but you never got punished becuase you owned the FA. why not wait until John Obi Mikel actually says what happened before jumping to conclusions.