Paul Okoye of P-square reveals his love for sports, playing football with Mikel Obi as a teen and why he became a Chelsea fan in this interview with Kelvin Ekerete.
Favourite Sport?
“Everybody knows my favourite sport is football. I can’t do without football. I play a lot of sports as well including basketball but I was really good at playing football.”
Why did you not become a professional footballer?
“Let’s just say I was checking football and music at the same time. But somehow, I was making more money from music.
How do I make money?
I performed at weddings and they sprayed me money.
But in football, you donate money, your team plays in a competition and you lose and that is it, all the money is gone.
“The primary school we used to train, we pay a certain amount of money every month. It was just too expensive for us so I switched to music. I am doing well at it as well.
“It was just a normal thing. Just like playing every day with your guys. Nothing serious. He was in a school called Township Primary School. That was where their own team was while I was in Fatima primary school then. Some guys came and wanted a youth team, I was selected, my brother was selected as well.
“However, you could tell during training that he didn’t belong there. All of us were learners. His house was opposite the stadium. So, you could tell where the skills came from. He just crossed the main road and he is at the stadium. Like I said it was a normal thing playing with him back then.”
What team do you support?
“I support any team Mikel plays in. When he said he was going to Man United, I supported Man United. When he went to Chelsea, I became a Chelsea fan. That was how I actually became a Chelsea fan. It was all because of Mikel.
“While he was at Chelsea, I fell in love with some players. One of them is Eden Hazard. I now support Real Madrid because of Hazard. That’s my second team.”
