Power-moving forward, Yakubu Aiyegbeni has called time on his playing career after two decades of endless bullying of defenders and causing havoc for goalkeepers.
On Wednesday, Yakubu had this to say: “I would like to officially announce my retirement from professional football today.”
Clubless since leaving Coventry City in April, the colossal Nigerian waited until his 35th birthday to break the silence.
He proved his ability as a marksman over a long period. Like his popular chant, ”feed the Yak and he will score.’
Below are the 8 most important things you should know about Yakubu’s amazing footballing career.
- Yakubu Aiyegbeni was the first African to score a UEFA Champions League hat-trick.
2. Yakubu Aiyegbeni is the highest Nigerian goalscorer in the Premier League (95 goals).
3. Yakubu Aiyegbeni is 3rd highest-scoring African in the Premier League with 95 goals, behind Togolese Emmanuel Adebayor, 97 goals and Ivorian Didier Drogba, 114 goals.
4. Yakubu Aiyegbeni has the most Premier League hat-tricks for an African player (4).
5. Yakubu Aiyegbeni is one of 2 African players to score four goals in a single Premier League match.
6. Yakubu Aiyegbeni is one of the three teenagers to have scored a hattrick in the UEFA Champions League [Maccabi Haifa vs Olympiakos] 2002, alongside Raul Gonzalez and Wayne Rooney.
7. Yakubu missed a 4-yard sitter in Nigeria’s 2010 FIFA World Cup game against South Korea.
8. Yakubu is Nigeria’s third highest goalscorer in history with 21 goals with 57 caps behind Rashidi Yekini, 37 and Segun Odegbami, 22.
The Yak, however, waited until his 35th birthday to call it quit from the game of football.
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