Nigerian Afrobeats star Mr Eazi has revealed that he once turned down an opportunity to sign for Chelsea Football Club, stepping aside so that his former academy teammate John Obi Mikel could join the English Premier League side.
The singer, whose real name is Oluwatosin Oluwole Ajibade, made the disclosure during a recent interview on The Beat 99.9 FM. He explained that Chelsea approached him about a potential professional contract while he and Mikel were training at the same football academy in Nigeria.
“They were gonna sign me. So it was like me and Mikel Obi,” Mr Eazi said. He added that he chose to pursue music because he believed he had greater potential in that field, while football was Mikel’s true passion.
“I just thought that Mikel Obi is not, he doesn’t have talent as a musician. But I can do that. So I let Mikel go to Chelsea,” the Banku music pioneer stated. In another version of his remarks circulating from the interview, he said: “Chelsea Football Club approached me to sign before Mikel Obi when we were at the same academy, but I turned them down because I knew I could do music, while my friend Mikel only wanted to play football. So I allowed him to shine.”
Mr Eazi linked the decision to his broader philosophy of sometimes stepping back to allow others to succeed. “So with this, with the music too, I had to, like, step back, go make a couple billions and then let other people shine,” he said. He referenced fellow Nigerian artiste Seyi Vibez and the phrase “Let your brother shine,” describing it as a guiding principle in both football and music.
Mikel Obi went on to join Chelsea in 2006 and spent more than a decade at the club. He became a key midfielder, winning major trophies including Premier League titles and the UEFA Champions League in 2012, while also representing Nigeria’s Super Eagles.
Mr Eazi, meanwhile, built a successful career in music, pioneering the Banku sound and expanding into entrepreneurship and talent development through initiatives such as emPawa Africa. His comments have drawn attention online as a light-hearted reflection on the paths both men took from the same academy roots.
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