Chelsea and Nigerian midfielder John Obi Mikel changes his name

Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel has changed his name officially after a registration error 13 years ago.
The Nigeria international was born in Jos as John Michael Nchekwube Obinna back in 1987, starting his footballing career with Plateau United.

After two years there, Mikel moved to Lyn in Norway and then earned a switch to the Premier League with Chelsea, where he has been now for a decade.


The central midfielder has been known as John Obi Mikel for years, but he has now changed his name to Mikel John Obi, as reported by the Mirror.

The reason behind that is the word ‘Mikel’ was never actually a part of the midfielder’s name – many felt it was short for Michael. It only became a thing when the Nigerian FA mistakenly used Mikel instead of Michael on his submission form for the 2003 FIFA Under-17 World Cup.

Mikel had been letting the mistake slide for 13 years, but would be hoping people could now call him by his correct name.