Former Nigeria striker Yakubu Aiyegbeni believes his value would have reached around €150 million if he had played in today’s football transfer market.
Yakubu made the claim during an interview on AY Suga Channel while reflecting on his Premier League career, transfer fees and the pressure that comes with expensive moves.
The former striker compared the fees paid for players in his era with the increasingly high transfer valuations in modern football.
“You see players now, I’m sorry to say, you score 10 goals, it’s €50 million. Ten goals in the Premier League is €50 million,” Yakubu said.
He recalled that he regularly scored around 15 Premier League goals during his playing career.
“I scored every year, it’s like 15, 15 in the Premier League,” he said.
Yakubu also pointed to his £11.5 million transfer from Middlesbrough to Everton as an example of how dramatically the market has changed.
“And then from Borough to Everton was like £11.5 million, and that £11.5 million is like €150 million,” he said.
The Nigerian had joined Middlesbrough from Portsmouth for £7.5 million, a move that placed significant expectations on him to deliver.
“It was a lot of pressure to deliver. Big pressure,” Yakubu recalled.
He explained that players who command large transfer fees are immediately expected to justify the investment through their performances.
“When you’re bought for big amount of money, you have to deliver your best,” he added.
Yakubu enjoyed a successful spell in the Premier League with Portsmouth, Middlesbrough, Everton and Blackburn Rovers, scoring more than 90 goals in the competition.
He also scored 21 goals for Nigeria, establishing himself as one of the country’s most prominent international goalscorers.
His comments highlight the huge increase in transfer fees over the years and how players who were considered expensive signings in the past could command substantially higher valuations in today’s market.
