In Summary
- He says Members of His Family threatened to blackmail him.
- The Player managed his finances with the help of an agent.
- African footballers are oftentimes burdened with catering for others.
Former Super Eagles captain John Mikel Obi revealed on Thursday, how members of his family threatened to blackmail him if he failed to send them money.
Mikel, who was an integral part of the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League winning side with Chelsea, made this expose on a podcast with ‘Vibe With 5’.
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Family Blackmail
The player said His family got so comfortable,
“Because anything I was getting, I was giving so much to the family. They got so comfortable that they were expecting you to do that, and I got to that point 5 years ago where I had to say guys, I don’t care what you say.”
“If you don’t do it, we are going to go to the press, you are thinking, your brother, your family after all I have done for you guys. It happens a lot,” the 35-year-old said while explaining how he was able to manage his finances with the help of his agent.
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African Footballers Burdened By family
In Addition , he stated that African footballers were oftentimes burdened with catering for others who weren’t their immediate family.
“When you come from Africa and make money, it is not just your money. You have all these relatives, cousins, and a lot of them. Then your sisters get married to some guy who just wants to get married to John Obi Mikel’s family because my life is sorted. You start looking after the guy. You send money to your sister, but the money goes to him. And he does whatever he does with it,” Obi said.
“When you get the money, after you’ve shared it, you’re left with little remaining. And they keep having so many kids, and you’re asking who is going to take care of them, but they are looking up to you to look after them.
You are looking after the kids, the husband, and the husband’s family, and it becomes absolutely crazy. For them, you owe them that. It is the culture you owe them that and you stop to think, I don’t owe you anything,” he said.
