John Obi Mikel, a former Chelsea midfielder, has disclosed how several senior Chelsea players persuaded Roman Abramovich, the club’s former owner, to fire managers at Stamford Bridge.

Recall that over his 20 years as Chelsea’s owner, Abramovich appointed twelve managers.

During an interview with Rio Ferdinand’s Vibe with Five programme, Mikel Obi was questioned about the actions Chelsea players take to force a manager out of office.

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“The chat happens between the big guys: JT [John Terry], Frank [Lampard], Didier [Drogba], and Petr Cech, and a little bit of Ashley [Cole],” stated the former captain of the Super Eagles.

“We really did not like Rafa [Benitez] because he was not a Chelsea kind of manager, and AVB [Andre Villas Boas]. It is not like a chat where they go, ‘we are going to go at you.'”

There was a small schism when, for whatever reason, AVB stopped playing Frank, who did not take it well. He was younger than most of the players, including Frank and JT.

“Players who have been playing but are no longer playing start talking and the atmosphere is a little bit down when that happens and you get bad results. It cycles around and before you know it, there is a little bit of talk.”

They simply stroll by and cease exchanging pleasantries with the management. They convey their message in this way. After hearing their narrative, Roman [Abramovich] steps in and starts making judgements that are in the athletes’ best interests. Roman only talks to those guys.

During his tenure at Chelsea, Mikel Obi won multiple trophies, including the UEFA Champions League trophy.

Since then, the Nigerian has given up playing football professionally.