Mikel Obi Joins Olympic Squad as Chelsea Okays Participation

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Mikel Obi Joins Olympic Squad as Chelsea Okays Participation

Super Eagles skipper, John Mikel Obi has been released by Premier League side Chelsea for the Rio 2016 Olympics football event.


The seasoned midfielder, alongside Eagles goalkeeper Daniel Akpeyi, was selected as one of the overage players for the event by Nigeria U23 coach Samson Siasi as they chase a second Olympic gold.


Mikel, whose Stamford Bridge future remains uncertain following the £30 million acquisition of former Leicester defensive midfielder N'Golo Kante, will play no part in the sides pre-season tour of the United States as he looks to finally fulfill his Olympic dream, Complete Sports writes.

He revealed that he will be joining the rest of the squad in Atlanta on Sunday via his Instagram wall.

"First part of the pre-season done; off to Atlanta to join the Nigerian team for the 2016 Olympics," Mikel wrote on his first Instagram post @john_mikel_obi.

Mikel Obi 29, scored his first pre-season goal on Thursday in Chelsea's 8-0 drubbing of Austrian local side Atus Ferlach as Antonio Conte's men shrugged off the rustiness from the summer break.

This will be his first Olympic appearance for Nigeria after missing out on the country's silver-medal run at the Beijing 2008 Games as a result of hectic club schedule.