On Thursday, former Super Eagles captain John Mikel Obi disclosed that he had received threats of extortion from family members threatening to kill him if he didn’t provide them money.
Mikel, who played a key role in Chelsea’s 2011–12 UEFA Champions League winning team, revealed this on the “Vibe With 5” podcast.
“I was giving so much to the family with whatever I was getting.” I had to tell them, “Guys, I don’t care what you say,” five years ago because they were getting so comfortable that they were expecting you to do that.
After everything I have done for you guys, you are thinking, your brother, your family, and if you don’t do it, we are going to the press. It occurs frequently,” the 35-year-old remarked, describing how his agent’s assistance allowed him to handle his money.
Speaking still further, he said that African football players were frequently forced to provide for people outside of their immediate family.
“It is not simply your money when you come from Africa and succeed financially. You have a large number of cousins and other relatives. After that, your sisters marry a man who merely desires to wed a member of John Obi Mikel’s family because my life has been resolved. You begin to take care of the man. Even when you give money to your sister, it ends up going to him. And with it, he does whatever he pleases,” Obi remarked.
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“You have very little money left over after sharing it when you receive it. They also keep having a lot of children, and while you may wonder who will raise them, they are depending on you to do so. It becomes completely insane since you are taking care of the husband, the children, and his family. That’s what you owe them. He said, “You stop to think, I don’t owe you anything; it’s the culture you owe them that.”
Former Arsenal and Manchester City footballer Emmanuel Adebayor also disclosed that his family’s attempts to con him out of money drove him to consider suicide.
With weekly pay of more than £170,000 while at Manchester City and Tottenham, Adebayor has amassed a substantial fortune for himself over the course of his career.
I had numerous moments when I considered suicide. For years and years, I kept this to myself. It disgusts me that things have come to this point, but I’m glad we’ve discussed it.
“In three or four years, my football career will come to an end.” In contrast, he stated in a 2006 interview with So Foot, “My family name will remain with me – along with these people.”
