Super Eagles captain, John Obi Mikel, has announced his planned departure from Chinese Super League club, Tianjin Teda, a year before his contract with the club is due.

The former Chelsea player did not travel with the Tianjin Teda first-teamers to Spain for pre-season training as he is negotiating with the club to break his contract, reports say.

Obi made the announcement in an interview with Tianjin TV Sports New Vision program.

“I broke the contract with the club, which means I will leave Teda. As for my next stop, I am not sure yet, maybe I will return to Europe, maybe stay in China.

“Anyway, I would like to wish the TEDA team good luck next season.”

Mikel performed well for Tianjin Teda in the first half of the 2018 season but struggled with injuries in the second half after representing Nigeria at the World Cup.

Throughout his stay in China, the central midfielder-cum defender featured in 31 Super League matches, scoring 3 goals (3 assists).

The 31-year-old joined the Tianjin Tigers in January 2017 from English Premier League club Chelsea after finding game time difficult to come by under Antonio Conte.