[h3]Controversial transfer to England[/h3]
On 29 April 2005, a few days after Mikel turned 18,
Premier League club
Manchester United announced that it had struck a deal with the Norwegian club
Lyn Oslo to sign the player.[sup]
[8][/sup] United's website also claimed that they had done a deal directly with the teenager and that he had signed a contract to join them. Mikel's agents were bypassed as the club persuaded the youngster to sign a 4-year contract without representation. Lyn Oslo allegedly sent a fax to his agents abroad, claiming their services were no longer required by Mikel. Reports said the deal was initially worth £4m,[sup]
[9][/sup] and would see the player arrive at
Old Trafford in January 2006.
Rival Premier League club,
Chelsea, later issued a counter-claim suggesting that they already had an agreement with Mikel and his agents, but Lyn Oslo denied this claim. However, subsequent reports indicated that Chelsea claimed to have been involved in arranging the player's original move to Europe with a view to signing him at a later date. Further substance was added to this claim after it was revealed that the player had impressed Chelsea manager
José Mourinho while training with the club's first-team squad during the summer of 2004.
Mikel expressed his delight at joining United in a hastily arranged press conference, where he was pictured holding up a Manchester United shirt, which bore the squad number 21.[sup]
[1![0]](/styles/default/xenforo/NTemojis/alien.gif "Alien 0]")
[/sup] Following his signing of the contract to join Manchester United, there were claims from Norway that he had received a number of threatening phone calls from unknown sources. Mikel was assigned a security guard and moved to a safe hotel. However, on 11 May 2005, the midfielder went missing during a
Norwegian Cup game against Klemetsrud; he had not been selected for the match but had been watching from the stands. Whilst the player was believed to have left with one of his agents, John ****tu, who had by now flown in to meet Mikel, his disappearance sparked massive media coverage in Norway and also provoked a police enquiry after the Lyn Oslo director
Morgan Andersen made claims in the Norwegian media that Mikel had been '
kidnapped'. These claims were later repeated by Manchester United's assistant manager
Carlos Queiroz, who accused Chelsea of being involved in the alleged 'kidnapping'.[sup]
[11][/sup]
It subsequently emerged that Mikel had travelled to London with his agent John ****tu, who was working for
Jerome Anderson's SEM group.[sup]
[12][/sup]Manchester United manager
Alex Ferguson considered travelling to
Oslo to visit Mikel, but decided against this after Mikel was reported to have left the country.[sup]
[13][/sup] Staying in a London hotel, and some nine days after disappearing, Mikel stated on
Sky Sports News that he had been pressured into signing the contract with United without his agent present, claims furiously rebuffed by both Manchester United and Lyn Oslo.[sup]
[14][/sup] Mikel told the British media that Chelsea were the club he genuinely wanted to sign for. In response to these events, United made an official complaint to FIFA about the behaviour of both Chelsea and the player's agents, John ****tu and
Rune Hauge, already infamous for his role in the
George Graham bungs scandal.[sup]
[15][/sup] FIFA dismissed these claims in August 2005 stating there was insufficient evidence to bring a case against Chelsea.
Following the tournament, Mikel failed to return to Lyn Oslo, and the club lodged a complaint with FIFA. On 12 August 2005, FIFA ruled that Mikel should return to Lyn Oslo to see out his contract with the Norwegian club, whilst they would decide at a later date whether the contract he signed with United should be upheld or cancelled.[sup]
[16][/sup][sup]
[17][/sup] After a delay of over a month, Mikel complied with the FIFA decision and returned to Lyn Oslo in early September 2005 after a three-month absence.
[h4]Transfer resolved[/h4]
Rather than leaving FIFA to determine the validity of the contract signed with Manchester United, Chelsea intervened by volunteering to settle the transfer saga through negotiation with Lyn Oslo and Manchester United.[sup]
[18][/sup]
On 2 June 2006, Chelsea, Manchester United and Lyn Oslo reached a settlement to resolve the future of the player. Mikel's registration was to be transferred from Lyn to Chelsea; Manchester United agreed to terminate their option agreement with Mikel. Under the terms of this agreement Chelsea agreed to pay Manchester United £12 million, half paid upon the finalisation of the contract and the other half in June 2007, and Lyn £4 million, half payable immediately and half in June 2007. As a result of this settlement, all claims in this matter were withdrawn.[sup]
[19][/sup] On 19 July 2006, Chelsea were granted a work permit for the midfielder after they completed the £16 million signing in June 2006.[sup]
[2[/sup]
In the aftermath of the transfer, Morgan Andersen, who had a previous conviction for forging official documents,[sup]
[21][/sup] was convicted of fraud and making false accusations and given a one-year suspended jail sentence by an Oslo court. The court also ordered him to pay 20,000 kroner (£1,944) in costs.[sup]
[22][/sup]Chelsea made a High Court claim for £16m against FC Lyn Oslo and Andersen following the conviction, claiming that the previously agreed settlement was not binding as "the transfer was based on a fraudulent misrepresentation, now proven by a court of law".[sup]
[23][/sup] This claim was subsequently resolved out of court.[sup]
[24][/sup]
