Former Super Eagles head coach Sunday Oliseh has opened up about his turbulent relationship with former captain, John Obi Mikel, revealing that the former Chelsea midfielder snubbed a face-to-face meeting in London and ignored his messages during his tenure in charge of Nigeria.

Speaking in a podcast interview, the former Juventus and Ajax midfielder admitted that he regrets not heeding initial advice from the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to exclude Mikel, Vincent Enyeama, and Emmanuel Emenike due to internal concerns about team cohesion.

“I regret not having listened to the NFF. Because when I took over the job, the first thing NFF told me was to stop inviting three of them (Mikel, Enyeama and Emenike) because they were chaotic to the NFF,” Oliseh stated.

“They were chaotic to the system.” Oliseh detailed how he personally funded a trip from Belgium to the United Kingdom to meet with both Mikel and Victor Moses at an accessible venue in central London, attempting to establish a strong working relationship ahead of key international fixtures.

“With my own money, not the NFF money, I went to the UK, sent a message to the clubs, sent a message to him (Mikel), sent a message not only to him but also to Victor Moses, gave them an appointment at a bar that was accessible in the heart of London, with my assistant coach, for two of them to come and have a meeting,” Oliseh recalled.

Describing Mikel’s failure to attend or respond as "one of the biggest insults" he experienced as national team manager, Oliseh noted that the former Chelsea midfielder did not even reply to his WhatsApp message.

However, Oliseh praised Victor Moses for his professionalism during the encounter, noting that the winger attended the meeting and shared honest feedback regarding underlying issues within the squad, insights that Oliseh said he deeply respected.