Real reason I left PSG for Bolton – Jay Jay Okocha

Former Super Eagles captain Jay Jay Okocha has opened up on his career path, revealing why he left Paris Saint-Germain to join Bolton Wanderers in the English Premier League, Soccernet.ng reports.

Famous for his flicks and tricks, the 53-year-old is rated as one of football's greatest-ever entertainers, getting fans excited and off their seats. However, with the enormous talent of the former Frankfurt attacking midfielder, many expected him to play for bigger clubs.

After breaking out in the Bundesliga with Die Adler, Okocha joined Fenerbahce after winning the 1996 Olympics gold medal in Atlanta. After two years, he moved to Paris Saint-Germain.

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Why Jay Jay Okocha left PSG for Bolton

After playing for the Super Eagles at the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France, Okocha was approached by Paris Saint-Germain, and he put pen to paper with Le Parisien, joining on a four-year deal for £14 million, a fee that made him the most expensive African player at the time.

However, he didn't like his first three years at the club. While PSG are a household name now, especially after winning back-to-back UEFA Champions League titles, their success wasn't as huge almost three decades ago.

As such, the mentality of the players in the squad wasn't that of a team that wanted to win titles, and Okocha wanted to be challenged.

“I went to PSG at the wrong time. Imagine going now,” the AFCON 1994 winner said on the Obi One podcast.

“I played with Pochettinno, Arteta, Heinze and Ronaldinho, but it was just for a season before I left.

“It was the wrong time because when I got there, I met players that were just happy to be there. So, the mentality wasn't the same.

“It was in my fourth season that I really enjoyed my football there. They wanted to keep me for another year, but I already had enough because I wanted to play in the Premier League,” Okocha continued.

Away from the mentality of the team, the former Super Eagles captain didn't have the best time under then PSG coach Luis Fernandez.

“We [Ronaldinho and Okocha] had a lot of issues with Fernandez and I couldn't understand why.

“To be honest, that was why I left. He'd come into the dressing room, see us laughing, even though we were struggling with the little French we knew, and quiz us on what made us so happy.

“We didn't like that he was picking on us, so why shouldn't we smile before training? We didn't really enjoy our time with him.”

Bolton enters the fray

In the summer of 2002, in a bid to test himself in the English Premier League, Okocha agreed to join Bolton, largely because it was close to Manchester, which the ex-Fenerbahce midfielder took to mean the clubs were on the same level.

“The offer came at the right time, and to be honest, I didn't do my research,” the Olympic gold medallist said.

“I thought everywhere in England was nice. I'd been to London before then, I'd played against Manchester United at Old Trafford.

“So, when I heard Bolton, and saw that it was about 10 minutes away from Manchester, I thought both clubs were at the same level.

“When I was invited to negotiate, they picked me up at the Manchester airport, drove me straight to the Stadium, and you know, the stadium is beautiful.”

“We did a tour around the stadium; it was nice, but they didn't take me to the training ground and kept it away from me.

“It was after I signed and resumed training that I saw that the changing room was a cabin, and they had just three running showers, which means the players had to queue. First come, first served.

“Then I wondered what I was doing there, but as a football person, I could live anywhere, and with Manchester just 15 minutes away, it helped with shopping.

“What mattered to me was the football, but to be honest, the difference from PSG was day and night,” Jay Jay Okocha concluded.

After four years with the Trotters, the Nigerian legend was stripped of the captaincy at Bolton, largely due to his imminent move to Qatar SC. After a year in the Middle East, he returned to England to sign for Hull City.