John Obi Mikel joins Tianjin TEDA (Photo: Superliga de China)
John Obi Mikel has become the newest Chelsea player to swap the Stamford Bridge for the Chinese Super League after announcing he is joining Tianjin TEDA.
Oscar left Stamford Bridge for Shanghai SIPG in a £60million deal earlier this week, and now Mikel has revealed he is heading the same way following a 10-year stay at Chelsea.
The midfielder has made 374 appearances for the Blues, winning 11 trophies along the way, but has struggled to break into the team under boss, Antonio Conte this season.
Tianjin TEDA have been courting Mikel for some time, and it seems their £140,000-a-week offer was simply too good to turn down.
Mikel said in a statement: "As you will know, I haven't featured as much this season as I would have liked, and at 29, I still have many years in the game ahead of me.
"With this in mind, I feel now is the time to seek a new challenge.
"I'm delighted to be joining Tianjin TEDA FC in China, at a time that the Chinese Super League is really taking off, and I look forward to helping Tianjin TEDA FC continue to grow both on and off the pitch in the next few years."
He added: To Mr Abramovich, the club's staff, coaches, physios, and to the managers I played under at Chelsea, I want to say 'thank you.'
"To everyone at Chelsea — goodbye, and thank you. You will always be part of who I am, and I wish you the best of luck. I could not be happier to be saying goodbye with the club back where it belongs — top of the league."
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