Red and Shaf - I think you are missing the point that if Lyn's contract was invalid, they could not transfer him to United, and therefore United's registration was invalid, meaning they had no right to that money.

Paul F, Liverpool,

I cant stand all mu FANS who thinks they knows everything about football. ...But yall know nothing !

MIKEL was the voted 2nd best plaYer of the last two edition of the U-20 WORLD CUP alongside Barcelona's MESSI and 3rd which went to his Nigerian team mate --bullet shooter "Taiye TAIWO" while Nigeria got to the final.

Yall tell me why ur ALEX FERGUSSON was chassing him in the 1st place ? ...By the way, You lost Mikel to CHELSEA because you r broke.

Yinka, London, Nigeria

Ian in Wokingham, I think you maybe forgetting a few things... Scholes is not there to make tackles (he's there to create), Fletcher in turn is there to make tackles (not to create) and Diarra left Chelsea because he didn't want to play there anymore. Ask Mourinho and he'll say he wanted to keep him!

Nik, London,

Ian from Wokingham:

Without your ABU specs on, I think you'll find it abundantly clear where our next generation of midfielders are currently playing: Old Trafford.

Ronaldo, Nani & Anderson will be three of our midfield four for at least a decade. Add to that the heavily rumoured summer signing of Miguel Veloso (20), and you'll see that we've got no worries in the midfield department.

Best of luck at Barnsley. You'll need it.

Niall, Pinner,

To Ian....Maybe we should give Chelsea that cash so they can trade in Mikel and the 12 million pounds for a decent player...sorry Carrick or Anderson are not for sale...better look somewhere else....

Oswaldo, Caracas, Venezuela

David in Manchester..you must be a very lonely MU fan..Obi Mikel is alive and well in West London..tackles better than Scholes, creates more than Fletcher, sets up more than Carrick and is so good we let Diarra go. He is the next generation Makalele..where are your next generation of midfielders coming from, they're all playing in lower leagues!

ian, Wokingham, england

How were Man Utd supposed to know that there was a fake contract along the way? They signed Mikel is what they thought was a legal if somewhat controversial deal. They did not knowingly take money from Chelsea under false pretences.

Shouldn't it be the former LYN director who was acting for LYN and working under their authority who faces the punishment? If there is any refund to be made to Chelsea, as their appears to be, it should be Lyn Oslo and their former employee who pays up.

Shaf, Swansea, Wales

It's Lyn's contract with Mikel that is under scrutiny - not United's. United's contract was not forged so there is no way they're going to have to pay any cash to Chelsea as they have no case to answer. Surely the only issue is if Lyn had the right to profit from the initial £4million sale to Utd. If not then United should be refunded the £4million.

Red, Scotland,

Well seeing as Chelsea paid for his training and schooling (along with another Nigerian kid) from the age of 13, with an agreement in place that they could buy him when he was 18, then they certainly should get their money back. It may well be that Man U have to pay Chelsea back and then sue Oslo / Andersen who are the ones who really have acted disgracefully in this situation. If what is alleged actually did take place then to lie to an 18 year old and force him to sign a contract without an agent / advisor present, just so they could make more money is scandalous.

Why wouldn’t Mikel smile? At the time he thought that Chelsea weren’t interested, despite having funded him for 4 years. Instead he’s signing for Man U. No reason not to smile there. The trouble arose once it was alleged Oslo lied to Mikel about Chelsea not being interested and then forced him to sign a contract which basically gave them the right to sell him to whoever they saw fit, rather than to Chelsea for a much lower price.

Mikel was the loser in this, he lost a year of his development due to the greed of Oslo. It’s a testament to him that he’s got over this and turned into such a quality player.

Tom, London,

Very glad in retrospect that we didn't get Mikel.

He wouldn't boost the quality of Man Utd's stellar midfield and he pulls a mewling, uncomprehending face like a giant baby every time he gets sent off.

Another graceless, hacking Chelsea midfielder.

David, Manchester, UK

I'd say United wouldn't happily pay back the money to Chelsea - but they should.

£12m for a fake signature?

It means United had no right to the player at all and ergo no right to compensation.

TBOS, London, UK

Stewart in Preston, you obviously have your red-coloured glasses on.

The contract which Mikel signewd with ManYoo will be null and void if the court find in his favour, as the transfer to ManYoo was from Lyn Oslo. If he wasn't Lyn's player, then they couldn't transfer him to ManYoo.
He didn't sign the contract with ManYoo as a free agent.

cotumely, london,

This is interesting!Manchester should get the $4M from Lyn and then real justice is delivered
Jogor Barrie, Sierra Leone

Jogor Barrie,, Kabala, Sierra Leone

If the Contract with Lyn Oslo was fraudulent then they had no right to sell him to Man Utd in the first place.

Vince, London,

I taught FIFA already sort this MIKEL's tranfer out already,

And by the way, If MAN-UNITED can't afford paying CHELSEA back their £16-million. Then, ...I suggest they should give them Ronaldo, Nani or ROONEY. ....lol

Yinka, London, Nigeria

I don't see why Utd would have to refund anything. If his contract with Lyn was forged then he was a free agent when he put pen to paper and signed for Utd (which he did with a big smile on his face).

All that should happen is Lyn Oslo will have to pay Utd the £4 million that was their part of the £16 million transfer fee paid by Chelsea.

Stewart, Preston,