Obi was at the centre of a three-way tug of war in 2006 with Manchester United, Chelsea and Norwegian club Lyn Oslo all insisting he was their player.
Lyn director Morgan Andersen, who has pleaded not guilty to forging a contract that indicated his club had the rights to Obi, told the court about a meeting with Chelsea representatives and the midfielder's agent, John Shittu.
Andersen said: "It was like meeting the Sopranos. In the meeting they behaved in a threatening way. We claimed we had the rights to Obi but Shittu said we would regret the deal.
"Soon after, Obi's agent took him to the airport in Oslo. They went to London. Obi was crying and we didn't see him for a long time after that.
"His mind was set on Manchester United. He was very happy when the deal was done and he wanted to go to United."
Obi's future was resolved in June 2006 when the clubs reached an agreement, with Chelsea paying United £12million and Lyn £4m. The court case continues.
