Former Nigerian midfielder Austin Jay-Jay Okocha has revealed that he turned down an opportunity to join Bayern Munich in 1991 over contract terms.
Speaking on the ObiOne Podcast hosted by former Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel, Okocha said the Bundesliga giants wanted to sign him after he featured for their youth team in a tournament in Switzerland. At the time, Okocha was 17 and had travelled to Germany from Nigeria to visit a friend. Bayern, the biggest club in Germany at the time, offered him a chance to train with the senior team and play for the reserve side, but said they could not give him a professional contract until he turned 18.
Okocha, who was born in August 1973, said German football rules then required players to turn 18 before July to be eligible to play professionally that season. Because he turned 18 in August, he would have had to wait almost another year.
The offer from Bayern was verbal only. Okocha said he asked the club to put it in writing because he could not risk moving from Nigeria without security in case of injury, but the club declined and told him they were sorry if he could not accept.
He then signed for third-division club Borussia Neunkirchen to start the 1991-92 season. Okocha said his age also prevented him from playing in the promotion play-offs for Neunkirchen even after the team won its regional league. By the winter transfer window, Eintracht Frankfurt approached him and offered a structured deal that addressed his situation — a one-year amateur contract followed by a two-year professional contract — which he accepted, launching his professional career in Germany.