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Chelsea FC announced today that they've agreed to a new 5-year contract with John Obi Mikel. Mikel has been a key member of the club since the days of Jose Mourinho, and it's very nice to see he'll be continuing his relationship until June of 2017.
Mikel had the following to say about the extension on the club's official website:
"I have basically won everything with Chelsea and those years have been really special for me, winning trophies with big names like Didier Drogba, John Terry and Frank Lampard who have had very long Chelsea careers."
"Last season to win the Champions League was even more special, and I hope these next five years will bring even more success and I can win trophies with the new players we have here."
"Being 25 I think I am now hitting my peak but as a player you want to improve every day and there is still room for that. I want to learn from the players and the manager and I just want to keep going."
This extension will see Mikel remain with Chelsea throughout the rest of his prime, and will likely see him end up as one of the top Chelsea appearance makers of all-time if he's a regular contributor during the remaining 5 years of his deal.
While by no means a perfect player, Mikel has shown that he fills a valuable role for the club over his time here. It's good to see he'll be around for the long term, hopefully over the next several years some fans will learn to appreciate him. Congratulations Mikel, this is genuinely fantastic news.
