Mikel Obi Defends Victor Osimhen Over Rant Towards Ex Super Eagles Boss Finidi George

• Victor Osimhen courted controversy weeks ago with his Instagram Live rant towards Finidi George
• Osimhen, unfortunately, reacted to a false post, leaving him with an egg to his face over the incident
• Super Eagles legend John Obi Mikel has reacted to the incident after the player returned to the team

Super Eagles legend John Obi Mikel has leapt in defence of Victor Osimhen months after the striker’s Instagram Live rant towards former coach Finidi George.

Osimhen returned to the Super Eagles for the first time since the AFCON 2023 final in the 3-0 win over Benin Republic, scoring the second goal six minutes after coming on.

As noted by Soccernet, the striker missed the June international break, leading to a false blog post in which the head coach questioned his commitment, and he went berserk.

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The Napoli star has not commented publicly on the issue, but it resurfaced after returning to the team for the AFCON 2025 qualifiers against Benin Republic and Rwanda.

Mikel Obi defends Osimhen

Former national team captain Mikel Obi, speaking on the Obi One Podcast, has spoken on the incident after it re-emerged around the international break.

“Every time I speak to him, he’s very humble and respects people. As I said, respect is reciprocal. I respect you, you respect me,” he said.

“I think this situation with the Nigerian coach, where he blew out, he just felt it wasn’t fair because the manager didn’t protect him. He said he had a conversation with the manager, everything was recorded, and the manager just threw him under the bus.”

“He was really pissed off, so he came out to defend himself. Maybe the way he did it wasn’t the best, but he had the right to speak out. I have nothing against Victor [Osimhen] for that, and knowing your worth isn’t arrogance,” he added.

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Former Super Eagles star Emeka Ezeugo reopened the incident after calling for the Galatasaray forward to be suspended unless he issues a public apology.

Brand and communications expert Michael Adegbile, speaking exclusively to Legit.ng, shared his thoughts on Mikel's comment and advised what Osimhen should have done.

“As a former footballer and now a pundit, I would believe that Mikel Obi has seen what life is on both sides of the coin, being cursed out by an active footballer can be disrespectful, not more by your countryman and on fake news associated with you,” he said.

“Finidi has come out to state that he’s yet to hear from Victor Osimhen, which is absurd to me, the least Victor could have done is reach out to one or two legends and apologise. Active football is not forever.”

Finidi speaks on Osimhen's rant

Legit.ng reported that Finidi reacted to Osimhen's rant for the first time and claimed that the Europe-based striker has yet to apologise months after the incident.

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However, the head coach does not support suspending the player from the national team, admitting it was a mistake and that everyone should move on from it.

Source: Legit.ng