Former Super Eagles Captain, Mikel Obi has been made a free agent without a club, following the termination of his $4 million contract with Kuwait club, Kuwait Sporting Club.
The report of his sack by the club was made public on Thursday, as Mikel will no longer play for Kuwait SC after the club announced that his contract has been terminated four months after joining the outfit from English Championship club, Stoke City.
The 34-year-old has now become a free agent as the club confirmed that the mouth-watering $4million two-year contract has been cancelled.
In a statement on their Twitter handle, the Kuwaiti club announced: “Termination of the contract of the Nigerian John Obi Mikel”.
The reason for the cancellation of the contract remains unclear, but the Kuwait SC had undergone several changes recently as they aim to reclaim the country’s league championship.
However, report had emerged few weeks ago that the former Chelsea star had refused to keep to terms of his agreement with the agent, Mr Michael Okafor who brokered the deal in July this year.
The report on the misunderstanding between Mikel and Mr Okafor seemed to have created a bad image for their brand brand, the club felt.
While more reports about the reason behind Mikel’s contract termination continue to gain prominence, it was also observed on the pitch that his performances were too poor to meet the aspirations of the club.
According to reports, the AFCON winner had lost the steam, the energy of playing in the engine room of Kuwait SC, which is the midfield.
“Mikel’s performance was not good and he could not run, was not mobile and was playing like a tourist that was the reason his contract was cancelled,” Bader Almeraabi , Kuwaiti based football agent told Totori News
“His physical condition was very bad. He was walking on the pitch, instead of running like his other teammates, too bad.
“The club discovered later that he lacked strong physical condition as a professional footballer. His contract had to be terminated,” he said.
Mikel had spent the majority of his career at Chelsea and during his 11-year stay at Stamford Bridge, he won several laurels including the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, the Premier League, FA Cup, and League Cup.
On leaving Chelsea, he moved to China where he signed for Tianjin TEDA on January 6, 2017, on a free transfer.
He left Tianjin TEDA at the end of the 2018 Chinese Super League season in November 2018 and moved to Middlesbrough on a short-term deal in the 2019 winter transfer window.
