According to Austin Okocha, a football legend, he believes that in today’s transfer market, football clubs will pay around €150m to secure his services. Okocha joined Fenerbahçe from Eintracht Frankfurt in 1996, in a deal worth around £1m after the German outfits were relegated from topflight football.
The Nigerian star dazzled during his two-year stint with the Turkish club, and his impressive performance at the 1998 FIFA World Cup was enough to convince French giants, Paris Saint Germain, to pay an African transfer record fee of £14m to lure the player to France.
In an interview with hurriyet, Okocha expressed his confidence in his abilities and believed that he would have cost around €150m in today’s transfer market. He even quipped, “Maybe 1 billion should have been paid for me,” highlighting his immense confidence in his worth as a football player.
He compared his abilities with that of Chelsea’s defensive midfielder, for whom the club paid £106m to acquire. According to Okocha, given his talent, assists, and dribbles, he believed that he would have commanded a transfer fee of around €150m, which is indicative of how much football has changed over the years in terms of players’ worth.
Furthermore, the 49-year-old also expressed his sadness at leaving Fenerbahçe, where he was loved by the fans. He added that it was a difficult decision to make, and he left with a heavy heart. He was very happy in Fenerbahçe, where he even married his wife in Turkey, and his children were about to be born.
However, after his excellent performance in the World Cup, an offer came from PSG, and despite his sadness, Okocha wanted to make money for Fenerbahçe. The club’s president, Aziz Yildirim, was reluctant to let him go and did not even interview the PSG Club, making the process difficult for Okocha.
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