Sports
How My Family Threatened To Blackmail Me If I Stopped Sending Money – Mikel Speaks
How My Family Threatened To Blackmail Me If I Stopped Sending Money – Mikel Speaks
Ex-Super Eagles captain John Mikel Obi disclosed on Thursday the disturbing experience of facing attempted blackmail by his family members, who demanded money from him.
Mikel, a key player in Chelsea’s victorious 2011-12 UEFA Champions League team, shared this revelation during a podcast interview on ‘Vibe With 5’.
“Because anything I was getting, I was giving so much to the family. They got so comfortable that they were expecting you to do that and I got to that point 5 years ago where I had to say guys I don’t care what you say.”
“If you don’t do it we are going to go to the press, you are thinking, your brother, your family after all I have done for you guys. It happens a lot,” the 35-year-old said while explaining how he was able to manage his finances with the help of his agent.
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Expanding on his remarks, Mikel emphasized that African footballers frequently find themselves shouldering the responsibility of providing for individuals beyond their immediate family circle.
“When you come from Africa and make money, it is not just your money. You have all these relatives, cousins, and a lot of them. Then your sisters get married to some guy who just wants to get married to John Obi Mikel’s family because my life is sorted. You start looking after the guy. You send money to your sister, but the money goes to him. And he does whatever he does with it,” Obi said.
“When you get the money, after you’ve shared it, you’re left with little remaining. And they keep having so many kids, and you’re asking who is going to take care of them, but they are looking up to you to look after them. You are looking after the kids, the husband, and the husband’s family, and it becomes absolutely crazy. For them, you owe them that. It is the culture you owe them that and you stop to think, I don’t owe you anything,” he said.
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Former Arsenal and Manchester City player Emmanuel Adebayor has openly shared that he once contemplated suicide due to the pressure inflicted by his family’s attempts to manipulate money from him.
Despite amassing a significant fortune with weekly wages exceeding £170,000 during his stints with Manchester City and Tottenham, Adebayor faced profound personal challenges.
‘I felt like killing myself so many times. I kept this to myself for years and years. I am disgusted that things reached this stage, but I feel relieved to have talked about it.
‘My football career will be finished in three or four years. By contrast, my family name will remain with me – together with these people,” he said in an interview with So Foot 6 years ago.
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