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Former Super Eagles captain Jay-Jay Okocha has revealed that Fenerbahçe issued him a Turkish passport under the name “Muhammed Yavuz” when Paris Saint-Germain showed interest in signing him in 1998. Okocha said the Turkish club was determined to keep him and insisted that he was not for sale, prompting him to stop training temporarily in an effort to force the transfer.
Speaking on the Obi-Wan podcast, Okocha explained that Fenerbahçe asked him to choose a Turkish name for the passport. He selected “Muhammed” because of its significance to Muslims and “Yavuz” after a staff member he was fond of at the club. He recalled that the situation became amusing when he travelled with the passport and failed to realise that airline staff were addressing him as Mr Yavuz.
Okocha eventually completed his move to PSG in 1998 after two seasons with Fenerbahçe. The transfer was reportedly a record fee for an African footballer at the time, beginning a four-year spell in France before he later moved to Bolton Wanderers.
