Former Nigerian international, Mikel John Obi has claimed that he was robbed of the African Footballer of the award in 2013.

Obi finished as the first runner-up in the prestigious award given to the top-performing African player in the calendar year.

The former Chelsea man, who finished second to Ivory Coast legend Yaya Toure stated emphatically that he got robbed and that he was informed he was the winner before the event took place.

"I got robbed, mate...Before I went there I was told that I've won it. But the thing is I was still at the airport. I was in the airport flying to Nigeria because the ceremony was in Nigeria and Man City was paying. Guess what happened? Yaya banged in two goals," he said in an interview with Dubai Eye.

He further justified why deserved the accolade back then, pointing to the trophies he won in the

"I had won the UEFA Champions League and I had won the Europa League the year before that. For that reason, I knew I had won it."

Mikel Obi also disclosed that, at the event that took place in Nigeria, the guests began to exit right after Yaya Toure was announced as the winner.

"...You could have seen the ceremony. Before he was announced, people left."

2013 was one of the best years in Mikel Obi's career when he won the UEFA Europa League with Chelsea and the African Cup of Nations 2013. He was integral in both tournaments.

However, the defensive midfielder lost the award to Toure who only won the FA Cup with Manchester City and was involved in 18 goals(9 goals, 7 assists) in 42 games.


EE/KPE