SIR ALEX FERGUSON has left John Obi Mikel hanging after being invited to appear on his podcast.
Ferguson tried and failed to bring Mikel to Manchester United in 2005, when the Nigerian chose Chelsea instead.
The legendary Red Devils boss even flew down to London for a one-on-one with the defensive midfielder, who was only a teenager at the time.
A complicated legal battle had erupted between United and Chelsea over Mikel, who was playing for Norwegian club Lyn.
United had even announced his signing and Mikel had posed for the cameras wearing the famous red shirt.
But Chelsea successfully blocked the move, paying £12million in compensation to United and £4m to Lyn.
And Mikel, who hosts the straight-talking Obi One Podcast, still prides himself on the fact that a legendary figure like Sir Alex was unable to talk him round.
When asked if he had invited Ferguson onto the pod, he said: “Been in touch?! I’ve asked the question.
“But listen, the gaffer, he is one of the greatest managers that’s ever coached the game. That’s ever managed [in] the game. So for me, huge respect for Sir Alex Ferguson, for the gaffer.
“But yeah, it’d be nice to have him on the podcast, to talk about this transfer, of course he would have a lot to say about it.
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“He knows exactly what happened, I know exactly what happened and that famous meeting I had with him in the FA office down here in London.
“2005, the year he tried to convince me. I had a meeting with him for five hours in the FA office. He was trying to convince me to come to the club.
“But then I stood strong. I wanted a fresh move – a move that I could call my own. Where I don’t have to follow the decisions or the advice of other people.
“I decided to follow my heart and go with my gut feeling, which was to go with Chelsea and that’s what I did.”
Mikel spent the bulk of his professional career with Chelsea, playing nearly 400 games over 11 years and winning a Champions League, two Premier Leagues and six domestic cups.
He went on to play for the likes of Middlesbrough, Trabzonspor and Stoke before retiring in 2021.
Now well-known for his popular podcast, in which he is not shy of sharing a controversial opinion, Mikel claims that he and Ferguson have buried the hatchet.
He told talkSPORT: “It’s so good for the boss to finally forgive me after such a long time.
“He mentioned it a couple of times [during his career], it was like, ‘You were the one that got away, aren’t you?’”
