Mikel Obi quits Trabzonspor amid coronavirus scare

Former Chelsea star Mikel Obi is now without a club after ending his contract with Turkish club Trabzonspor by mutual consent.
The ex-Nigeria international leaves Şenol Güneş Stadium days after saying he didn’t “want to play football in this situation.”
Mikel, 32, joined the Süper Lig outfit as a free agent on a two-year deal last summer, after a short spell at English club Middlesbrough.
His contract was due to expire in the summer of 2021, but the Black Sea Storm announced the departure of the Nigerian on Tuesday.
“The professional football player agreement between our company and John Obi Mikel on 30.06.2019 start date 31.05.2021 has been mutually terminated. With the mutual termination agreement, the football player gave up all his forward-looking receivables,” Trabzonspor wrote on their official website.
The club did not state the reason for the decision, but the contract termination comes just days after the midfielder asked the Turkish Football Federation to “cancel” the season over fears of coronavirus spread across Europe.
His statement read: “There is more to life than football. I do not feel comfortable and don’t want to play football in this situation. Everyone should be home with their families and loved ones at this critical time. Season should be cancelled as the world is facing such turbulent times.”
Mikel made the comments ahead of Trabzonspor’s Süper Lig home clash with Basaksehir, which he sat out.
Despite most of the leagues in Europe suspending action in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, the leagues in Turkey are still going on.
Turkish Football Federation president Nihat Ozdemir confirmed that the Turkish league will not be suspended despite the coronavirus outbreak.
Ozdemir, however, added that the behind-closed-door policy of fixtures will be extended until the end of April.