Siasia says Mikel offered him €50,000 bribe as agent Shittu denies it

Former U23 national team coach, Samson Siasia, is in the news again after alleging that the ex-Super Eagles captain John Mikel Obi offered him €50,000 to be part of Nigeria’s squad for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. But Mikel’s agent John Shittu says the coach has apologized to him over the statement as he never offered him any bribe.

Siasia who spoke during an interview with Elegbete TV on YouTube, said that Mikel only showed interest in playing at the Olympics very late after the U23 Eagles qualified without him.

Siasia said, “Mikel wasn’t a regular starter at Chelsea then; he was mostly on the bench. I told him we only had one match left against Ghana — and I pleaded with him to come and help us.

“I told him if he didn’t come, he wouldn’t be part of the Olympics squad. But Mikel refused, insisting he was busy with Chelsea. We went on to play the match, did very well and it ended 0-0. And so we qualified without him.”

Siasia then added that when preparations for the Olympics began, Mikel, through his agent, attempted to buy his way into the squad.

 “Before the Olympics, Mikel wanted to join the team. His agent approached me and offered €50,000 for Mikel to be included.

 “I told them it wasn’t about money. He didn’t help us during the qualifiers, so how can I drop someone who fought for qualification just to bring him in? It wasn’t going to happen. That’s why Mikel didn’t make the squad.”

But John Shittu, a FIFA-licensed football agent who handled Mikel’s affairs, has denied offering €50,000 bribe to Samson Siasia for his inclusion in the Olympics team.

The former Eagles coach claimed he rejected the bribe and refused to select Mikel for the tournament because the former Chelsea midfielder failed to play during the qualification phase.

In a chat with TheCable on Tuesday, Shittu said Siasia has reached out to him to apologise for the comment.

Shittu added that “I am one of the most respected agents in the game” and “I don’t engage myself with damaged or inconsequential people”.

He then said “as far as I am concerned, it’s a forgotten issue.”