10 Strangest Ever Manchester United Signings

2. John Obi Mikel

David Davies/EMPICS SportDavid Davies/EMPICS SportIt's a little known fact that at one point in time John Obi Mikel was a Manchester United player. In April 2005 United announced that they had reached a deal with Norwegian club Lyn Oslo to sign the Nigerian, with further claims on their official website stating at the time that Mikel had signed a contract. What happened next was bizarre. Mikel vanished off the face of the earth for nine days with Nigerian media reporting the defensive midfielder had been "kidnapped" by Chelsea. When Mikel finally turned up, he insisted he had been pressured into signing a deal with United when his preference was to join the Blues. In 2006, Chelsea reached an agreement between Oslo and United that would see the Londoners pay the Red Devils £12 million and the Norwegian outfit £4 million for Mikel's services.
Contributor
Contributor

Joseph is an accredited football journalist and has interviewed nearly all of the current 20 Barclay's Premier League managers. He is also a correspondent for Bleacher Report and has written for Caught Offside and Give Me Football.