Jay-Jay Okocha: Net Worth, Profile, Age, Wife, Cars, Achievements, Houses, How Rich is he in 2023?

Till this very day, Jay-Jay Okocha is widely considered one of the most talented footballers to ever play the beautiful game. Here is all you need to know about the 50-year-old legend.

Jay-Jay Okocha background

Augustine Azuka Okocha commonly known as 'Jay-Jay' Okocha, is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. 

He played 73 times for the Nigeria national team between 1993 and 2006, scoring 14 times, and was a member of three FIFA World Cup squads. 

He is regarded as one of the greatest football players from Africa and the most talented Ngerian footballer of all time.

In 2003 and 2004, Okocha won the BBC African footballer of the year and is among the only four players (Nigeria’s Nwankwo Kanu, Ivory Coast’s Yaya Toure, Egypt’s Mohamed Salah) to have won the award more than once, with two wins.

Okocha has also won the Nigerian Footballer of the Year Award 7 times, having made 73 appearances for the Super Eagles, with whom he won the Summer 1996 Olympics with as well as the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in 1994.

Jay-Jay Okocha Profile

Full name: Augustine Azuka Okocha 

Birth date: August 14, 1973

Nationality: Nigerian

Place of birth: Enugu, Enugu State, Nigeria

Age: 50 years old (as of August 2023)

Position: Attacking Midfielder

Current club: Self Employed

Height: 5 ft 9 in

Marital status: Married

Spouse: Nkechi Okocha

Parents: Mr. and Mrs. Azuka Okocha

Net worth: $15 Million

Instagram: @official_jj10

Twitter: @IAmOkocha

How old is Jay-Jay Okocha? (Jay-Jay Okocha Age)

 Jay-Jay Okocha is 50 years old as of August 2023.

Jay-Jay Okocha Profile

Okocha played across multiple leagues, starting his career at Enugu Rangers in the Nigerian Professional Football League before moving to Borussia Neunkirchen in Oberliga Südwest, Germany's third division in July 1990. 

Okocha joined Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt in December 1991, where he linked up with many well-known players including Ghanaian international striker Tony Yeboah and later Germany international Thomas Doll. 

He continued to shine for the German side, with one highlight being a goal he scored against Karlsruher SC.

Okocha dribbled a host of players in the penalty box before slotting the ball past goalkeeper Oliver Kahn even going past some players twice.

 The famous goal was voted Goal of the Season by many football magazines, and also voted as 1993 Goal of the Year by viewers of Sportschau (an ARD German TV sports programme).

In 1995, Okocha, Yeboah and Maurizio Gaudino were all involved in a feud with manager Jupp Heynckes, which led to their departure from the club.

Yeboah and Gaudino later left for England, while Okocha stayed until the end of the season when Frankfurt were relegated to the 2. Bundesliga.

 In the Bundesliga he scored 18 goals in 90 matches.

Okocha would eventually end up moving to Turkish club Fenerbahçe.

Okocha joined Turkish club Fenerbahçe for approximately £1 million.

 In his two seasons in Istanbul, he scored 30 goals in 62 appearances, many of them coming from direct free kicks, which became something of a trademark for him at the club.

Okocha acquired Turkish citizenship and chose the name Muhammed Yavuz while playing for Fenerbahçe.

In 1998, Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain spent around £14 million to sign Okocha, making him the most expensive African player at the time.

 During his four-year stint with PSG, he played 84 matches and scored 12 goals.

 Okocha also served as a mentor, at the time, for young Brazilian footballer Ronaldinho during his time in Paris, with the latter going on to win the Ballon d’Or years later.

After leaving PSG in the summer of 2002 after the FIFA World Cup, Okocha joined Bolton Wanderers on a free transfer.

His debut season, despite being hampered by injuries, made him a favourite with the Bolton fans, with the team printing shirts with the inscription "Jay-Jay – so good they named him twice". 

He steered the team away from relegation with seven goals, including the team Goal of the Season in the vital league win against West Ham United.

That goal was voted Bolton's best Premier League goal in a fans vote in 2008.

The next season saw Okocha receive more responsibility as he was given the captain's armband following Guðni Bergsson's retirement.

 As captain he led Bolton to their first cup final in nine years where they finished runners-up in the 2004 Football League Cup to Middlesbrough.

In 2006, he was stripped of the captaincy – something he said he had seen coming, as there had been a change in attitude from some staff members. 

This was reportedly due to his proposed move to the Middle East, which had been growing in speculation. 

At the end of the season, he refused a one-year extension in order to move to Qatar SC.

Following Bolton's relegation from the Premier League in 2012, Okocha stated that his time at the club was now rendered a waste of time, because the club had not invested and improved on the foundations that were laid during his time there.

However, in 2017, Okocha was voted the best player to have ever played for Bolton Wanderers at the Reebok/Macron Stadium, having scored 14 goals in 124 appearances.

After just one season in Qatar which saw his score 6 times in 41 appearances, Championship side Hull City signed Okocha on a free transfer in 2007.

But Okocha  was not able to contribute greatly to Hull's promotion campaign due to fitness and constant injury problems, playing only 18 games and scoring no goals.

Hull still succeeded in winning promotion to the Premier League, for the first time in their 104-year history.

At the end of the season, after changing his mind about a proposed retirement due to Hull's promotion, he was released by the club, which ultimately sent him into retirement in 2008.

Okocha made his official debut for the Super Eagles of Nigeria in their 2–1 1994 FIFA World Cup Qualifier away loss against Ivory Coast in May 1993.

However, it was not until his second cap and home debut that he became a favourite with the Nigerian supporters.

 With Nigeria trailing 1–0 against Algeria, in a match they needed to win, he scored from a direct free kick to equalise, before helping the team to a 4–1 win, eventually securing qualification to their first World Cup.

 In 1994, he was a member of both the victorious 1994 African Cup of Nations squad and the World Cup squad who made it to the second round before they lost in a dramatic match against eventual runners-up Italy.

In 1996, Okocha became a key member of a more successful Nigerian side, helping the Super Eagles win the Olympic gold at the Atlanta Games.

The team was later nicknamed the Dream Team by the Nigerian press after the USA 1992 Olympic gold-winning basketball team.

 In the 1998 FIFA World Cup hosted by France, Okocha played for a disappointing Super Eagles side who failed to live up to expectations again reaching the round of 16, only to be knocked out by Denmark.

This did not destroy interest in Okocha, who had entertained fans with his trademark skills and dribbles and went on to be named in the squad of the tournament.

Okocha again featured for the Super Eagles in the 2000 African Cup of Nations co-hosted with Ghana. 

He scored three goals in the tournament, two in the opening game against Tunisia, and was then given a standing ovation by the nearly 60,000 attendance when he left the field.

A quick, talented, and skilful playmaker, Okocha usually played as an attacking midfielder, and is widely considered by some pundits internationally as the best Nigerian footballer ever, and as one of the best African players of all time.

 He is still remembered by Fenerbahçe fans as one of the legends of the club and country. 

Okocha was known for his confidence and trickery with the ball, technique, creativity, flair, close control, and dribbling skills, as well as his turn of pace and his use of feints, in particular the stepover and his trademark turns.

Due to his skill and nickname, he was described as being 'so good that they named him twice' (a line immortalised in a terrace chant while Okocha played for Bolton Wanderers).

 However, despite his incredible ability, he was also known for being inconsistent.

In March 2004, he was named one of the top 125 living footballers by the great Pelé.

Jay-Jay Okocha Career Achievements

National Team level

U-23 Summer Olympic Games: 1996

Africa Cup of Nations: 1994; runner up: 2000; third place: 2002, 2004, 2006

Afro-Asian Cup of Nations: 1995

Club level: Borussia Neunkirchen

Saarland Cup: 1989–90, 1991–92

Oberliga Südwest: 1990–91

Club level: Fenerbahçe

Prime Minister's Cup: 1998

Atatürk Cup: 1999

Club level: Paris Saint-Germain

Trophée des Champions: 1998

UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2001

Club level: Bolton Wanderers

Football League Cup runner-up: 2003–04

Club level: Hull City

Football League Championship play-offs: 2008

Individual Achievements

Goal of the Year (Germany): 1993

Nigerian Footballer of the Year: 1995, 1997, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005; runner-up: 1996

African Footballer of the Year runner-up: 1998; third place: 2003, 2004

FIFA World Cup All-Star Team (Reserve): 1998

BBC African Footballer of the Year: 2003, 2004

BBC Goal of the Month: April 2003

Premier League Player of the Month: November 2003

Africa Cup of Nations Top Scorer: 2004

Africa Cup of Nations Best Player: 2004

Bolton Wanderers Player of the Year: 2004–05

IFFHS All-time Africa Men's Dream Team: 2021

When did Jay-Jay Okocha retire (Okocha retirement)?

Jay-Jay Okocha retired from international football in 2008 aged 34, after Nigeria lost to Ivory Coast in the Africa Cup of Nations semifinals.

Okocha also revealed his reason for retiring early citing reduced minutes on the pitch of play as a triger for his decision to quit playing football professionally at the age of 34.

“I must confess that [not getting a lot of playing time] was one of the main reasons why I retired from playing at a very young age,” Okocha told media men at a press conference organised by Star Times.

“I believe that it is not worth it to train from Monday to Friday just to have 20 minutes on the pitch or sit on the bench on Saturday. I am very competitive.”

Jay-Jay Okocha Net Worth

As of 2023, Jay-Jay Okocha has an estimated net worth of $15 million according to figures from Celebrity Net Worth.

How does Okocha make his money? Having earned a fortune from his active playing days, Okocha now makes most of his money from investments as well as endorsement deals.

The magnificent footballer has worked with a host of popular brands including: Bajaj Auto (An Indian motorcycle manufacturing company), Kwik Delivery, Xaiomi, Bullet Energy Drink, New Age, and BetKing.

Okocha lives a comfortable life and despite his retirement, he remains one of the richest Nigerian footballers.

He is the CEO of Jay-Jay Okocha Group West Africa - a business that he started in 2008, shortly after his retirment.

The business has a host of subdivisions like Bureau de Change, restaurant, bar, and imports some consumer products like wine.

The company also deals with property development, road construction, electronic sales and distribution as well as football management, as per Buzz Nigeria.

Okocha Post-Playing Career

In late 2014,  Okocha was added to the EA Sports FIFA football game series (now known as EA Sports FC) as a "Legend" which honours his years as a great footballer.

On 21 February 2015, Okocha was elected as the Chair of the Delta State Football Association.

In April 2015, Okocha expressed his interest in becoming the Nigeria Football Federation president.

In June 2019, it was reported that Okocha had been charged with alleged money laundering in Scotland.

Okocha has faced two different charges on money laundering by the Scottish police at the Aberdeen Sheriff Court.

 Firstly, he was charged for allegedly procuring, being in possession of, and transferring criminal properties, while the second charge was related to concealing, disguising, and converting criminal property. 

These incidents reportedly took place in 2015 but were brought up to court after two years in 2017.

During the court hearing in Aberdeen Sheriff Court, Okocha made no plea and was granted bail. The case was adjourned without a specific date for further examination. 

However, in March 2020, the charges were withdrawn against Okocha by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

Since 2019, Okocha has served as a football pundit for African sports broadcaster Supersport, providing analysis for major tournaments, including the FIFA World Cup, African Cup of Nations and the European championships.

Jay-Jay Okocha Wife, Family

Although, Okocha was born in Enugu State, the southeastern part of Nigeria. 

His parents, Mr. and Mrs. Azuka Okocha, hails from Ogwashi-Uku in Delta State, Nigeria.

 Okocha grew up with his parents and siblings in Enugu, and that was where he developed an interest in football. 

However, there is no public record of his educational background.

Okocha has a brother James who started playing football first and passed down the name Jay-Jay to the ex-player.

 Also, his immediate older brother Emmanuel, who was also called Emma Jay-Jay, is a known person in football. 

He is a former footballer who played for the Nigerian national team. 

Who is Jay-Jay Okocha's wife? Jay-Jay Okocha is married to the gorgeous Nkechi Okocha.

During the years of her husband’s football career, Nkechi Okocha quite often appeared in the spotlight,  attending various events with the popular Super Eagles legend.

Even though she doesn’t regularly appear in the spotlight as she used to after her husband’s retirement in 2008, she is one of the most popular football wives in Nigeria. 

The pair have been happily married for over a decade and their love appears to be growing even stronger every year, having recently celebrated their 25th year marriage anniversary.

Jay-Jay and Nkechi are blessed with two children, a daughter and a son named Daniella and Ajay - both of whom are already grown up.

One of Jay Jay's nephews is Everton and Super Eagles of Nigeria midfielder Alex Iwobi.

Jay-Jay Okocha Okocha Cars

The former playmaker has been pictured in his expensive garage featuring some exotic automobile brands including a White & Black TopCar Mercedes-AMG G63 estimated to be currently worth over N130,000,000, a Mercedes G-Wagon, a 2015 Porsche 918 Spyder estimated to be currently worth over N500,000,000 amongst others.

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