Fernandez joined Chelsea for a British-record transfer fee in January, but Okocha believes he would have gone for more than that in today’s market.
Former Nigeria captain Austin Jay-Jay Okocha believes he would have cost more money than Enzo Fernandez in today’s market.
Chelsea broke the British transfer record in January after signing Enzo Fernandez from Benfica on an eight-and-a-half-year deal.
Okocha says he is worth 150m in today's market
The Blues paid a record-breaking fee of €120 million (£106.8m) to sign the Argentine midfielder in January.
However, Okocha insists he would have probably gone for more than that amount in today’s market. Before the football market was invaded by oil oligarchs, Okocha was one of the most expensive players in the world.
The former Super Eagles captain was once Africa’s most expensive player after joining Paris Saint-Germain from Fenerbahce for €12.40m in 1998.
But with transfer fees on the rise since then, Okocha’s record has since been obliterated, with Nicolas Pepe currently holding the tag of Africa’s most expensive player following his move from Lille to Arsenal.
Nonetheless, Okocha believes he would have cost more money in today’s market, even more than the amount Chelsea paid for Fernandez.
Speaking in an interview with Turkish newspaper Hurriyet, Okocha says he would go for at least €150m in today’s market because if Chelsea can pay €120m for a defensive midfielder in Fernandez, his talents will cost more.
“Maybe 1 billion should have been paid for me. They paid £106m for their defensive midfielder Chelsea. To a player from Portugal. I would have cost around 150 million euros. My assists, dribbles... World football started to pay a lot of money. Such would be the number of players of this quality,” Okocha said.
Okocha's undeniable talents
The former Super Eagles star was indeed one of the most talented players to ever play the beautiful game.
Okocha was known for his dribbling skills, magic and set-piece. In a career that almost spanned 20 years, the ex-Nigeria international was genuinely one of the most entertaining players to watch.
Okoch started his career abroad with Borussia Neunkirchen before joining Eintracht Frankfurt, where he scored one of the best goals in Bundesliga history against Oliver Kahn.
Following his time at Eintracht Frankfurt, Okocha joined Fenerbahce before moving to PSG for a then-African record fee.
Okocha spent four years in Paris before taking his talents to the Premier League, signing for Bolton Wanderers.
He achieved a cult hero status during his four-year stay with the Trotters, and was named the best player to play at the Reebok stadium.