Former Super Eagles captain John Obi Mikel has revealed that he reached out to the office of the late Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari to secure players’ bonuses following the 2018 World Cup in Russia, after months of delays by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).
On Tuesday’s episode of The Obi One Podcast, Mikel revealed that Nigeria’s players were still owed money earned from World Cup qualification, and that repeated promises from officials failed to materialise once the team reported to camp.
“Talking about fighting for players’ bonuses, I went above the president of the NFF to get those bonuses, which is what I did a couple of times during the World Cup,” Mikel said.
He explained that FIFA provides what is known as “parachute money” ahead of major tournaments, intended to be shared among players. Federations often borrow funds to pay these bonuses early, repaying the lenders once the FIFA payments are received.
He said, “Leading up to the World Cup, we were owed money. We had been asking for this money for months before the tournament. They kept telling me, ‘Oh, Mikel, don’t worry, the money will be sorted when you come to camp.’
“I said, ‘Okay, no problem, but make sure the money is there because the players are asking me about their bonuses.’”
Mikel said that these assurances continued even after the team had arrived in camp. “We got to camp, and I spoke to the team secretary and the president. I asked, ‘Where is the money?’ Again, they said, ‘Don’t worry, Mikel, we’ll sort it out.’”
He said the players became increasingly anxious as days went by without receiving their payments.
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“A week went by. The players kept coming to me, saying, ‘Mikel, we need this money. Once the World Cup is over, we don’t know if we’ll ever get it.’”
With no resolution in sight, Mikel said he reached out to the late Abba Kyari, who was then President Buhari’s chief of staff.
“I called him and said, ‘Mr Chief of Staff, we have a serious issue in the national team. We need this money to settle the players. This is what was promised.’”
“24 hours later, a private plane arrived. The money was delivered to the hotel, hand-to-hand. Millions of dollars,” he said.
“I took the money and handed it to the team secretary and told him to hold it. I said, ‘Make sure this money does not go to the president or anyone else. This money belongs to the players.’”
He added that the bonuses were calculated and distributed to all players involved in the World Cup qualifiers the very next day.
Mikel said his actions upset senior officials, including the then-NFF president, who called him in for a meeting.
“They said, ‘Mikel, why did you do this? You’ve made us look like idiots,” he recalled.
“I said, ‘Are you serious? I’ve been asking you for this money for months.”
“When you fail, I have to take responsibility because my players need the f**king money,” Mikel said. “This money is owed. It is not a favour.”
He emphasised that the funds were not additional incentives, but earnings from World Cup qualification.
Nigeria were eliminated at the group stage of the 2018 World Cup, losing to Croatia and Argentina but defeating Iceland. The team earned $16 million in prize money for their participation, and the tournament remains Nigeria’s most recent World Cup appearance.
Mikel, who retired from the national team a year later, made 91 appearances for Nigeria, winning the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations and an Olympic bronze medal in 2016.
