Former Super Eagles captain, Mikel Obi, 33, has confirmed his departure from Turkish club Trabzonspor after terminating his contract.

On Tuesday, the club announced that Mikel’s contract had been mutually terminated with all his forward-looking receivables forfeited.

“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 a mutual termination agreement, the football player gave up all his forward-looking receivables.”

The termination comes days after Mikel criticised Turkish football authorities for not suspending the Super Lig season despite the spread of the coronavirus across Europe.

Confirming his departure this afternoon, Mikel thanked Trabzonspor fans for their support and admitted that it was ‘the hardest decisions’ to quit the club but ‘we all need take care of our families, spend time with them and protect them.’

He wrote: ‘I would like to thank all the fans for their support. I also want to say thanks to all my teammates, technical crew, medical team and kit men Ayatabe. for all we’ve achieved this season so far, wish you guys best of luck in winning the league. It was one of the hardest decisions I’ve had to make, but in current situation we all need take care of our families, spend time with them and protect them. #lifefirst #stayhome #family.’