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Mikel is the seventh highest-paid African player in Europe according to a magazine survey in june. The magazine listed Mikel's salary as $5.8 million a year. It could be the reason of kidnapping.
It comes on Twitter by Mikel's father company, ''Mikel was informed by his manager prior to the Stoke v Chelsea match & decided to play so as not to let down his team & family.''
Nigeria is not a safe place to live from many years as thousands of people died due to fights between Muslims and Christans of two parts of it. Mikel's family, from the Igbo tribe, are a minority in the area.