Super Eagles legend, Joseph Yobo has come out to explain why he dumped Everton for Fenerbahce.
Yobo recently revealed that he simply decided on the move to win titles and play UCL football.
According to him, he felt he had everything he could in the EPL so immediately Fenerbache came in, he knew the time was right to start a new challenge.
He added that he did not know what to expect in Turkey but he concluded that it was the right step to take.
His words, “After spending about nine years at Everton for some reason, I realised that I needed a change,”
“I wanted to win trophies and I wanted to play in the Champions League. Everton was doing well because we were a top-five and top-six team and were moving up.
“I felt at Everton, I have achieved all I needed to at that moment. As you grow older as a player you have more experience and you’ll start looking for trophies. So, I felt like going to where I can play in the Champions League and win trophies were the next thing for me.
“Luckily, Fenerbahce came in. When I went to Turkey, I didn’t know what was going to happen because I didn’t know their culture. Although I have played against them at Everton and I was so impressed by the way they played.
“When they came back for me, I was like ‘this is it’. At that time, the transfer window in the Premier League was closed and there was nowhere for me to go except out of England.
“I went there on loan, and after a month, believe me, I said I wanted to stay there because everything was different for me and I got motivated even more. I saw that with the team, I could would trophies and play in the Champions League. Within a few weeks, I fell in love with the club and everything changed.”
“I was becoming injury prone, I missed out for almost a year and the World Cup was coming. I was playing in the Champions League and Europa Cup for Fenerbahce, but I know what I was going through to play those games. I wasn’t 100% fit,”
“So, in order for me to make the World Cup team – obviously, I was getting to my peak and younger players were coming on.
“The Turkish league is very good but Nigerians don’t watch it, so I had to make a statement by returning to the Premier League where people can see me play.
“I think my first game was against Manchester City – I wondered how I was going to defend against [Edin] Dzeko and other players. Overall, it was a good move for me and in that game, I was named Man of the Match.
“People saw that even with my injury, I can still play, so that meant there was a spot for me to go to the World Cup. I played eight games consecutively before my injury and that happened because I took a risk to play for my manager.
“Norwich were not as big as Everton but I love the structure and the staff were very good to me. They treated me while understanding the problem that I had and what I wanted to achieve. Everyone was great to me and it was a fantastic experience.”
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