Back in April 2005, the Red Devils announced that they had reached an agreement with Norwegian side Lyn for the then 18-year-old midfielder, with the Nigerian pictured in a United shirt at a hastily arranged press conference.

Events were, however, to take a stunning twist as Mikel travelled to London to meet with Chelsea amid reports in Norway that he had been kidnapped.

With a fresh deal thrashed out with the Blues, a side then managed by Jose Mourinho ended up having to pay Premier League rivals United £12 million in compensation as Sir Alex Ferguson and a dominant force in English football at the time were left empty-handed.

“It was surreal,” Mikel told The Sun.

“I was at school, but had Chelsea and Manchester United, two of the world’s biggest clubs trying to sign me.

“I’ll never forget that second meeting with Sir Alex. I’d signed a deal at United but had to tell him: ‘Sorry, I want to play for Chelsea’.”

Mikel admits that Ferguson initially refused to accept his United snub and continued to fight for his services, but the midfielder had already taken the decision to favour Mourinho and Stamford Bridge.

He added: “He [Ferguson] really liked me but I could see how angry and disappointed he was.

“Some things he told me made me think about changing my mind but I was thinking about Jose, too.

“I had these two great managers wanting me and I did not know what to do.

“Fergie told me: ‘Why would you turn down United? It’s the biggest club in the world. You cannot do that. You have to say Yes’.

“As a footballer, you have to make decisions that you live with for the rest of your life.”

Mikel saw his decision vindicated by a productive 11-year stint with Chelsea.

He made 374 appearances for the Blues, with those outings seeing him collect two Premier League titles, four FA Cups, two League Cups, the Europa League and Champions League.

Mikel eventually left west London in January, as he completed a switch to Chinese Super League side Tianjin TEDA, with the 30-year-old departing as a cult hero with his own piece of remarkable transfer history.

Chelsea were in a tussle with Manchester United over the Nigerian’s signature.

Mikel had put pen-to-paper at Old Trafford – but he ended up signing for the Blues after a year-long tussle.

A meeting with the Premier League’s Sir Dave Richards helped to resolve the issue.

But Abromavich still went to the most extreme lengths to make sure the deal was completed in his favour.

“He (Sir Dave Richards) offered to help me,” recalls Mikel.

“He told me it was making enemies between the two big clubs.

“I told him I wanted to play for Chelsea and he said he would help resolve it. Then I had a secret meeting with Mourinho at his house.

“Roman Abramovich organised six cars to get me there. It was like a military operation.

“I started in one car, then the drivers would talk to each other and suddenly I was dropped off and then picked up by another car.

“Once there, Jose told me: ‘The boss really wants you. I’ll play you and make you what you want to be’.

“That really helped as there were times when I thought: ‘Have I made the right decision?’.”

Mikel went on to win everything possible during his 11 years at Stamford Bridge.

The 30-year-old’s trophy cabinet boasts a Champions League, Europa League, two Premier League, four FA Cup and two League Cup medals.

*Goal.com