Mikel, Malaysia, Ronaldinho

[Fulham Broadway 16,979]

Chelsea mull £4m legal action over Mikel signing

David Hytner

Friday March 28, 2008

The Guardian

Chelsea are considering the pursuit of a claim against Lyn to recoup the £4m they paid to secure the signing of Mikel John Obi, after it emerged in court that the midfielder's first professional contract with the Norwegian club was a forgery.

Morgan Andersen, a former director of Lyn, was found on Wednesday to have falsified the documents relating to Mikel in 2005. He was given a one-year jail sentence, suspended for two years, and ordered to pay costs. He plans to appeal.

Mikel was at the centre of controversy after he agreed to leave Lyn for Manchester United in April 2005 ,only to claim he had been coerced into signing against his will and was determined to join Chelsea. The dispute rumbled on for more than a year until Chelsea paid £16m in compensation - £12m to United, £4m to Lyn - to take the Nigerian to Stamford Bridge.

The Norwegian football authorities pursued the matter and the court in Oslo heard that Andersen had amended the contract to make it appear that Mikel, on his 18th birthday, had signed for Lyn when in fact he had not agreed a professional deal with the club.

The prosecutor, Svein Holden, told the court the contract enabled Andersen to sell Mikel to United and profit from the deal. Without it, Holden claimed "Lyn would have been left with crumbs when Mikel disappeared out of the club".

Legal recourse is available to Chelsea who, like United, acted in good faith throughout. The ramifications for United should Chelsea sue are unclear. "If there was fraudulent misrepresentation, then Chelsea can sue for compensation for the monies they have paid out," said Graham Shear, a sports law expert at Teacher Stern LLP.

Chelsea face paperwork of a different nature regarding their manager, Avram Grant, after the club announced details of their pre-season tour to Malaysia. The south-east Asian country does not have formal diplomatic relations with Israel and Israeli nationals cannot travel there without special dispensation. Chelsea believe they have precedent on their side - Israeli athletes have been allowed into Malaysia in recent years - and Peter Kenyon, the club's chief executive, does not "anticipate any problems" in obtaining permits for Grant and the defender Tal Ben Haim. Chelsea's reported interest in Ronaldinho may be reignited by the Brazilian's agent admitting last night that a summer transfer from Barcelona is a possibility. Roberto Assis, the player's brother and agent, admitted the forward's relationship with Barcelona was "strained" and said: "The possibility for Ronaldinho leaving Barcelona is always there."

[BlueLion. 21,491]

Surely if we are to claim the £4 million we spent on Mikel, then shouldn't we have the £12 million we paid United be recovered as well?

[Fulham Broadway 16,979]

Surely if we are to claim the £4 million we spent on Mikel, then shouldn't we have the £12 million we paid United be recovered as well?

Agree said this all along -there was a marathon long thread on this on the previous site. If he was under 18 then the ManUtd contract would have been worthless.

[Elliott 7]

Surely if we are to claim the £4 million we spent on Mikel, then shouldn't we have the £12 million we paid United be recovered as well?

Well, it appears United did nothing wrong in this instance, unless there is evidence to back up Mikel's claim of coercion to sign a contract. In which case, if we are to recover that money: a) United give it us back as a sign of good faith (yeah right), we reclaim it from Lyn. After all, it would be Lyn's fault partially that we had to pay United £12 million for Mikel.

After all this though I can't help but think it was money well spent!

[BlueLion. 21,491]

True, even £16 is a good price for a talent such as Mikel. One only helps he develops into the player we all know he can become.