Obi Mikel unfiltered: When an African footballer earns money, it's not just his money

There are plenty of stories and examples of footballers from Africa who act as benefactors in their homeland. They help the poor, build schools and hospitals, but there are also quite a few examples of those whose family, friends, and surroundings "took away" a good part of their earnings.

Former Chelsea football player John Obi Mikel has his own podcast, and in one of the episodes he talked about the problem faced by players from Africa.

"When you come from Africa - and this is a topic that is not talked about enough - when you make money, it's not just your money! You have family, relatives, friends," Mikel began the story.

And explained how it looks in practice.

"Your sister is getting married to some guy who only wants to marry into Jonh Obi Mikel's family. And he thinks that all his life problems are solved. And then you start watching that guy, so when you send money to your sister, you see that guy take it and do whatever he wants with it. Like I said: your money is no longer just yours."

Mikel described it with no filter...

"When you get paid, you say: I'll put a little on the side for my father and mother, a little for this one, a little for that one. And by the time you regain consciousness, you have nothing left. That's our culture, people expect you to do that. In their opinion, you have a duty to do so. I am saying this because of the many young African players who will come to play football for more money and will find themselves in a similar situation. To know what awaits them and to be ready, to know how to manage".

And Mikel shares tips on what to do and how to do it.

"You have to say at some point, 'Enough is enough, I don't care.' Such a moment happened to me five years ago. I said "No more", because this kind of thing has happened to me since the beginning of my career. And then suddenly I became a villain. They stopped answering me when I called them on the phone. Until then, they called me not to ask how I was, but what I was going to give them next. I gave my family a lot and they expected it to be like that for the rest of their lives."

It's not even the worst that's happened, Mikel claims.

"It got to the point where they told me: "If you don't pay us, we'll go talk to the press. And you're thinking, you're my family, aren't you after everything I've done for you? In Africa, many will not talk about all this, they are ashamed to go public, to tell that they are being blackmailed by those closest to them", said John Obi Mikel.