John Obi Mikel leaves Chelsea for Chinese Super League

Nigeria captain John Obi Mikel announced on Friday that he is leaving English Premier League leaders Chelsea to join the Chinese side Tianjin TEDA.

John Obi Mikel joined Chelsea as a teenager and won 11 major honours during his career at Stamford Bridge. Reuters/Eddie Keogh

He is the latest star to head to the Chinese Super League, after the high-profile signings of Chelsea teammate Oscar by Shanghai SIPG and former Juventus forward Carlos Tevez by Shanghai Shenhua in recent weeks.

Mikel has not featured at all for Chelsea under manager Antonio Conte, who took over in July. N'Golo Kanté, Nemanja Matic and Cesc Fabregas all appear to be ahead of him in the midfield pecking order.

"After 10 years, 374 appearances and 11 trophies, it is time for me to say goodbye," Mikel said in a letter posted on his Twitter account.

"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 FC in China, at a time that the Chinese Super League is really taking off. I look forward to helping Tianjin TEDA FC continue to grow both on and off the pitch in the next few years."

In his farewell letter, Mikel reflected on his career at the Blues in which he won 11 trophies including two premier League titles, four FA Cups and the 2012 Uefa Champions League after a penalty shootout victory in Munich over Bayern Munich.

"I joined Chelsea as a 19-year-old kid from the Norwegian Premier League, making my debut in the Community Shield," he said. "I say goodbye as a champion of England, a champion of Europe and proud captain of my national team."

Reflecting on one of the most dramatic nights in Chelsea's history, he wrote: "Then there was Munich.Trailing with two minutes to go, it seemed that once more luck was against us. But that night, with lions on our chest and the fans behind us, we fought and to date we're still proudly the only team in London with a European Cup."

Mikel has been capped 78 times by Nigeria, scoring five goals, and was a member of the team that triumphed at the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa.