'Chelsea players met Man Utd and Liverpool stars in nightclubs – it motivated us to win'
Former Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel has explained how he and his fellow team-mates were motivated to win when they saw their rivals out in nightclubs
Former Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel has revealed he and his team-mates would use seeing fellow Premier League rivals on a night out as motivation.
During his lengthy playing career at Stamford Bridge, Mikel made more than 370 appearances for the Blues, operating in their engine room for over a decade. His arrival at Chelsea back in 2006 coincided with a massive run of success for the Blues, who won everything there was to win bar the FIFA Club World Cup.
Having hung up his boots back in 2022, the former Nigerian international has since started up his own podcast, aptly titled 'The Obi One Podcast'. And recently, Mikel revealed how he and his fellow Chelsea stars would motivate themselves by seeing players from the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool on a night out.
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While the rivalries seem to have softened on the pitch these days, back in Mikel's pomp, was an intense dislike between the big teams and their players previously. So, when Mikel and his team-mates went out for a night out, they did not want to be the one to have not played on the Saturday, so as to not be embarrassed when they saw their rivals.
Speaking on The Obi One Podcast, Mikel said: "And also, you have to think about going out on a Saturday night, where you see all the players from Manchester United and Liverpool in Mayfair, Arsenal, everybody is there.
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"You don't want to be that guy sitting there and you didn't play. What are you doing here? What are you doing on a night out partying? You want to be that guy who played. And you're out, having a good time.
"That was almost a motivation. That was a motivation. I know it doesn't sound right saying it but that was a motivation. The ego was our motivation."
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And the former Blues midfielder also explained how he and his team-mates refused to speak to their rivals too. "No, we don't," said Mikel when he was asked if he and his Chelsea team-mates talked to their opponents.
"The rivalry was so intense, that we see each other, we don't talk to each other. We don't say hi, what you saw on the pitch was nothing. We see each other, we didn't say hi."