Chelsea title winner John Obi Mikel has revealed how he helped get one manager sacked from Stamford Bridge, insisting it was an ‘easy’ task.
Obi Mikel played under ten managers during his 11-year spell at Chelsea and helped one lose his job.
The likes of Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, Rafael Benitez and Guus Hiddink all had stints in charge of the Premier League club while Obi Mikel was at the club.
But the ex-Nigeria midfielder instantly fell out with Andre Villas-Boas when he arrived at west London in 2011 and played a part in his sacking less than a year later.
Chelsea appointed ex-Porto boss Villas-Boas as Carlo Ancelotti’s replacement in the summer of 2011, paying the Portuguese club a world record £13.3m compensation to secure a deal for the highly-rated coach.
Villas-Boas was seen as the ‘next Jose Mourinho’ but, according to Obi Mikel, soon angered his Chelsea players with his ‘big ego’ and some interesting selection decisions.
The Portuguese coach, now 47, was sacked in March 2022 – less than a year after his appointment – and Obi Mikel says the decision was instigated by the Chelsea squad, who even contacted owner Roman Abramovich to express their concerns.
In an interview with Stadium Astro, Obi Mikel was asked: ‘AVB, what were your impressions of him when he joined? What did you know about him? Everyone said he was the next Mourinho.’
Obi Mikel, who won two Premier League titles and the Champions League at Chelsea, then said: ‘Yeah, he was.
‘Only if he didn’t come in with such a big ego and wanting to be the main man trying to force the core of the team out straight away.
‘You don’t come in from day one and say “you, all of you, I’m putting you on the bench.” And you don’t explain to them why they’re not playing.
‘You don’t come in and say, “Frank [Lampard], you’re out, JT [John Terry], you’re out. That’s not going to work, you need those guys to be there. AVB didn’t do that.
‘We know how to get managers to leave the football club, for us, it was easy to get rid of him. Just lose a few games and call the owner.
‘For Roman [Abromovich] we were the most important people at the football club, that’s how it should be, the players are the most important people, not the manager. The players have to be happy.’
Villas-Boas’ assistant, Roberto Di Matteo, took over in March of that year and remarkably turned floundering Chelsea into Champions League winners while also lifting the FA Cup during a sensational spell in charge.
Chelsea were prolific winners over the next decade but have not won a trophy since beating Manchester City in the 2021 Champions League final.
Enzo Maresca’s side are currently fourth in the Premier League – 18 points adrift of leaders Liverpool – and out of both the FA and Carabao Cup.
The Blues do, however, look on course to win the admittedly inferior Europa Conference League ahead of a last-16 tie with Danish side Copenhagen.
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