Nigerian football legend Austin “Jay-Jay” Okocha has opened up about why he believes he never won the African Player of the Year award despite his outstanding career.

Okocha addressed the issue during an appearance on the ObiOne podcast, where he was asked whether his failure to secure a move to one of Europe’s biggest clubs may have affected his chances of winning the prestigious individual honour.

The former Super Eagles captain dismissed the suggestion that playing for a major European club was the decisive factor.

“No, no, no, not really. Not really,” Okocha said.

He, however, acknowledged that football politics may have influenced the voting process during his playing days.

“I mean, I can openly say now that then, of course, a lot of football politics was in place, you know,” he said.

Okocha pointed to players who represented major clubs and won several trophies but still featured in debates over the award.

“Because some people, some players, they played in big clubs, they won everything but…” he added.

The former attacking midfielder also highlighted his success at the BBC African Footballer of the Year awards, where he won the honour twice consecutively.

“Well, I won everything, yeah. So what do you need to win to, you know, what are the criteria?” he asked.

“You know, I won BBC Player of the Year twice in a row, but I still didn’t win it.”

Despite coming close to claiming the African Player of the Year award, Okocha said he has accepted that some things simply do not happen.

“So when you look at it, some things are not meant to be,” he said.

According to the former Super Eagles captain, what ultimately matters is how a player makes use of their career and the achievements they take from it.

“And you just, the most important thing is, what did you make of your career? What did you get out of your career, you know?” he added.

Okocha remains one of Africa’s most celebrated footballers, having enjoyed a career with clubs including Eintracht Frankfurt, Fenerbahçe, Paris Saint-Germain and Bolton Wanderers.