John Obi Mikel transfer from Chelsea to Chinese side Tianjin Teda happened after the Blues decided not only to allow him leave for free but also reward him for his long service with a severance fee.
The captain of the senior Nigeria national team left Chelsea after ten and half years at the club, after falling out of favour with current manager Antonio Conte.
Conte didn’t name the Nigerian in any of his match day squad, as his table topping side relied on Nemanja Matic and N’Golo Kante as the midfield pair in their 3-4-3 system.
Mikel according to an intermediary close to him was paid the total wage of the remaining six months of his contract before his move to Tianjin Teda, on a deal twice his pay at Chelsea.
He reportedly received a severance fee worth £2m from Chelsea, which is the total pay package of the last six months of his deal with the Blues.
