Mikel Was Robbed In 2013 – Yaya Toure 

By Onoja Baba, Abuja

Over a decade after the 2013 CAF Awards stirred controversy across African football circles, Ivorian football icon Yaya Toure, has broken his silence. He is tipping the scales in favour of one man: Nigeria’s John Obi Mikel.

Speaking on the Obi One Podcast hosted by Mikel Obi on Thursday, Toure, a four-time African Player of the Year winner, admitted that Mikel was “instrumental” to both Chelsea’s Champions League triumph and Nigeria’s 2013 Africa Cup of Nations victory.

The achievements, in his view, merited the continent’s highest individual honour that year.

“You deserved it, Obi, to be honest, because in the league, the season was perfect. Nigeria won the AFCON, and you were instrumental in this period,” Toure said in a candid exchange that stunned fans.

Despite Mikel’s commanding form in midfield during Chelsea’s Champions League run, and his pivotal role in Nigeria’s historic AFCON win, the prestigious CAF Player of the Year award went to Toure, marking his third consecutive win.

At the time, the decision drew backlash from Nigerian fans and African football pundits who believed Mikel had outshined every contender that year.

While Toure won the hearts of voters with his club performance at Manchester City, the Ivorian now concedes the award could have gone the other way. “I was told nothing (by CAF), and I said Obi deserved it at the time,” he revealed.

Though he added that either of them winning would have been acceptable, he emphasized the importance of attending CAF ceremonies, hinting that presence sometimes outweighs performance in the decision-making process.

“If we don’t go there, who’s going to support?” Toure asked rhetorically, shedding light on the politics that sometimes clouds merit-based decisions in African football.

Mikel Obi, now retired, has largely remained quiet about the 2013 CAF Awards snub, but Toure’s unexpected confession may reignite debate about the credibility of past award decisions and the underlying biases within African football institutions.