A picture was shared on Chinese website Webo of former Chelsea midfielder Mikel shaking hands with a Tianjin club official and holding the club's shirt.
Mikel, who had been frozen out of Chelsea's first team this season with N'Golo Kante, Nemanja Matic, Nathaniel Chalobah and Cesc Fabregas ahead in the pecking roder, will reportedly earn £140,000 a week.
HIS
FAREWELL MESSAGE TO CHELSEA FANS
“To play in the Premier League, the best league in the
world, is every professional player’s ambition. But to play for Chelsea, to
become part of the Chelsea family, to work with some of the best managers and
players in the world, has truly been an honour.
Every achievement I have been part
of in my time at Chelsea holds a special memory: my first goal, against
Macclesfield in 2007 (even though there were only five more after that!). The
nail-biting end of the 2010 season – securing the title on the last day,
scoring a record 103 goals in the process, and winning the FA Cup a week later.
Didier’s extra time winner against Manchester United in the 2007 FA Cup Final.
Beating two of our biggest London rivals in League Cup finals. Winning the
Europa League in Amsterdam, with one of the last kicks of the game.
Then there was Munich. We were
desperate to make up for the disappointment of the 2008 final, but trailing
with two minutes to go, against Bayern, in their own stadium, it seemed that
once more luck was against us. But that night, with lions on our chest and the
fans behind us, we fought. Up popped Didier, the rest is history, and to date
we’re still proudly the only team in London with a European Cup.
“None of this would have been
possible without the wider club’s support. To Mr. Abramovich, the club’s staff,
coaches, physios, and to the managers I played under at Chelsea, I want to say
thank you.
“But my biggest thanks must go to
the Blues fans. You brought me into the Chelsea family, you sung my name, and
were there with us every step of the way. Thanks to your support, on nights
like in Munich, you made the impossible possible.
“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 in China, at a
time that the Chinese Super League is really taking off, and I look forward to
helping Tianjin TEDA continue to grow both on and off the pitch in the next few
years.
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.Keep the Blue flag flying high!”
Mikel John Obi.
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