‘I’m a former Chelsea star and helped get ex-manager sacked – it was easy’

Chelsea had a ruthless approach when it came to managers under former owner Roman Abramovich but it appears that Blues stars also had their say when it came to ousting bosses

Former Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas saw Blues stars turn on him during his time at the club, John Obi Mikel has revealed.

The Portuguese was appointed as the West London club’s manager in 2011 after replacing Carlo Ancelotti. But he lasted less than nine months in the job before being brutally sacked by Roman Abramovich.

The decision certainly worked for Chelsea, who won the Champions League for the first time under his replacement Roberto Di Matteo just a few months later. And ex-Chelsea star Mikel has now opened up on his spell under Villas-Boas and confirmed that he played a role in his dismissal.

Asked by Stadium Astro about his impressions of the man who was dubbed ‘the next Mourinho’, the Nigerian replied: “Yeah, he was. Only if he didn’t come in with such a big ego and wanting to be the main man trying to force the core of the team out straight away.

“You don’t come in from day one and say ‘you, all of you, I’m putting you on the bench.’ And you don’t explain to them why they’re not playing.

“You don’t come in and say, ‘Frank [Lampard], you’re out, JT [John Terry], you’re out’. That’s not going to work, you need those guys to be there. AVB didn’t do that.

“We know how to get managers to leave the football club, for us, it was easy to get rid of him. Just lose a few games and call the owner.

“For Roman [Abramovich] we were the most important people at the football club, that’s how it should be, the players are the most important people, not the manager. The players have to be happy.”

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Mikel played under a host of managers at Stamford Bridge including Mourinho, Villas-Boas, Ancelotti, Avram Grant, Luiz Felipe Scolari and Guus Hiddink. The former midfielder also played under Rafael Benitez and Antonio Conte.

During his time with Chelsea, he won two Premier League titles, four FA Cups, the Champions League and two League Cups. He left the club in 2017 with a move to China and eventually retired in 2021 after spells with Middlesbrough, Trabzonspor and Stoke City, while he rounded off his career in Kuwait.

Meanwhile, Villas-Boas had spells with Tottenham, Zenit, Shanghai SIPG and Marseille before making a surprise move into motor racing having competed in the Dakar Rally.

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