Brazil legend Ronaldinho has condemned Jay-Jay Okocha’s decision to join a Premier League club from Paris Saint-Germain in 2002.
The two skilful players were teammates at Parc des Princes until the Nigeria legend left for Bolton Wanderers on a free transfer after the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
Since they hung up their boots from professional football, Okocha and Ronaldinho have linked up at international ceremonies and football events with both sharing snaps.
Ronaldinho, in a recent interview, expressed his admiration for Okocha’s skills but he blamed him for rushing to join an English club which did not give him chance to show off his creativity.
The two-time World Footballer of the Year said: “Jay Jay Okocha, woow!! That man made football to listen to him. At Training we would watch him doing a freestyle, whatever he wanted the ball to do, the ball would do it. But his problem is that he was too keen to move to England.
“I didn’t like the decision, at least in Italy or Spain, there, they allow you to play your skilled football without interfering with your play.
“In La liga or Serie A He would definitely get a chance to play for a big team, because they love skilled players over there. In England you stand no chance of playing for a big team if you’re that skilled. They think it is not necessary. ”
Okocha’s dexterity with the ball and ability to score direct free-kicks made him stand out during his active football career and he played for several European clubs in Germany, Turkey, France and England.
The former Super Eagles captain also holds Turkish citizenship with the name ‘Muhammed Yavuz’.
