Super Eagles’ exciting winger Henry Onyekuru, who recently switched from Galatasaray to Monaco, has for the first time spoken candidly about the transfer and why he chose earlier in his fledging career to settle down to marital life in this enchanting conversation with MORAKINYO ABODUNRIN.
Dynamite, they say, comes in small packages; and truly pint-sized Super Eagles’ winger Henry Onyekuru, who recently moved from Galatasaray in the Turkish Super Lig to the French League 1 side, AS Monaco, is a bit special. Apart from being the first Nigerian to play for the Sarı-Kırmızılılar (The Yellow& Reds), Onyekuru is now the third Nigerian ever to play for the French side after the former international and 1997 African Footballer of the Year, Victor Ikpeba, and Haruna Lukman, strutted their stuffs in the famous red and white colours .
“Of course, I know that Victor Ikpeba was called the Prince of Monaco when he was here but I’m now the new Prince of Monaco and that’s what people call me now,“ the 22-year-old who recently tied the nuptial knots with his delectable fiancé told The Nation exclusively from his base in France. “Right from the day we arrived from the AFCON, Nigerians have started calling me the Prince of Monaco because the news broke during the AFCON that I was heading to Monaco.
“There was also the news that I was looking for my visa to France and everybody started shouting Prince of Monaco when I arrived at the French Embassy for my visa.
“It was really funny to me because here I’m in Lagos and people have already started calling me the Prince of Monaco; and I think it’s okay and I wish myself well about this.”
Indeed, Onyekuru has done so well in years under review since he signed his first professional contract with Eupen in 2015 and he said he was looking forward to making a huge mark also at Monaco.
“By the grace of God, I want to have a great time here with Monaco,” noted the lad who wears 40 and half shoe size. “I want to assist and score more goals in order to achieve more for the team; it’s my dream to bring the club back into the Champions League.
“I want to leave a legacy just as Victor Ikpeba did during his time here.I have a long time contract but in football anything can happen. But I want to make good impression during the time I’m going to be here. I want a good mark for my career and for my country, and, importantly, to win trophies for the club. It would be an amazing period for me here if I can achieve all these by the grace of God.”
While many players of his age were still dilly-dallying about their marital life, Onyekuru said he’d long found his bone of bones leading to the talk-of-town marriage ceremony in Benin to Esty, the mother of his son after the AFCON.
He said: “I courted my wife for a long time but we decided to get married based on the advice I got from my parents and coupled with experiences shared with me by older players.
“Personally, I think getting married at this stage would keep me focussed on my career because my wife had long been a motivator and adviser to me long before now.
“She had been at the heart of most decisions I’d taken and I have always found her pieces of advice and prayers very useful.
“She has always been there for me all this while since when I was at Eupen. She had always pushed me through the right path and not only about football but also in terms of investment.
“Apart from the fact that my wife is calm and prayerful, one other quality that attracted me to her was the fact that she was always looking for my progress. I’ve learned so much from her because I’d found out how reasonable some of the things she had told me in the past were.
“It wasn’t hard for me to decide to get married to my wife because she has added so much to my life. I decided to make her my backbone after my mum,” Onyekuru crooned about his wife who he affectionately called Iya Ryan or Babe as he dwelled on other sundry issues. Excerpts.
Growing up years in Surulere
I’d loved football right from my growing up years on the streets of Surulere in Lagos and I really loved to watch these former Super Eagles players like Nwankwo Kanu, Emmanuel Amuneke, Austin Jay Jay Okocha and the rest of them. Then I didn’t mind staying even late at night anytime the Nigerian national team was playing. Then some of the international matches involving the Super Eagles were usually played at night and sometimes it could be as late as 1am or 2am but I would still wait to watch them no matter how late the match was. I was very young then but I always told my dad to wake me up to watch the matches. This was one of the things that truly inspired me to take to football right from then.
Beginning of football education at Aspire
The story of Aspire actually started in 2010. And I got a five-year contract for football and schooling. Every year, Aspire comes to Nigeria to pick three to four players that are brilliant. Usually, they go round almost all the 36 states in the country and pick one player from all the states and set up a four-day camp in Lagos to pick just few players. Luckily, I was one of the players picked for the final test in Lagos and just one of the three players eventually selected from Nigeria for the class of 1997. But that was not the final test because after we were picked in Lagos, we still had to go for the final test in Qatar. We were picked in September but had to wait till January for the final test in Qatar. We travelled along with some of the Nigerian staff to Qatar in January for the three-week final test and we came back home to wait for the result which is usually through the CEO in Nigeria. I was very happy when I was told in March 2010 that I passed as one of the players selected from the set of players born in 1997. I later travelled with my mum to Qatar to sign the five-year contract and each year, our parents are allowed to visit us once. Of course, they (Aspire) pay us little monthly pocket money for our upkeep and they pay a huge yearly payment to our parents. But it wasn’t easy at the start because it was a new environment to me with players from different countries and with different languages. It was tough for me at the beginning but since football is all what I had dreamed about, I had to stay. I adjusted, started making friends and going to school all within the Aspire complex in Doha. I was able to learn French, a bit of Spanish and majorly in English as well. It was real fun to be at Aspire because every two months we travelled out of Doha to play against youth teams in Europe in order to improve our skills and standard in football. I completed my five-year contract in 2015 and remarkably only two (a Ghanaian player, Eric Ocansey and I) from 16 players were promoted from the class of 1997 at Aspire. If you are promoted, you’ll automatically go to Eupen in Belgium. I think Eupen is owned by Aspire and it is usually the first option for any player promoted from Aspire while other players not so selected are usually offered trials with other clubs and if they are not lucky enough, they go back home to face their future on their own. But everything turned out well for me and I was automatically drafted to Eupen.
Staring of professional football career at Eupen
I arrived Eupen in Belgium in the summer of 2015 and at that time, the club was in the second division. I was still very young and I knew I needed to learn and the coach actually told me as much that I needed to learn from the older and experienced players. The club had Luis Garcia then and some other players from Barcelona ; it was good opportunity for me to learn from such players and I really pushed myself hard. Though I was with the second tem, I was training with the first team and even though I was not playing, I was always part of the team’s roster for matches and I’m usually on the bench which, according to the coach, was ‘to see that I was part of his plans.’ But things got really bad for the team around December and we were heading towards the third division and we had lost a couple of players to injury; and that was when the coach(Jordi Condom) thought about giving me a chance. I remember my first game against Dessel Sport and I scored two goals; we didn’t look back from then. We got promotion to the first division and that was when the coach started having so much belief in me. When we got to the first division, the club needed to sign a top striker and the coach then told me I would be better playing from the wings in order to create more goals for the striker. That was how he changed my position to the left wing because of my speed and skills in order to accommodate the striker (Mamadou Sylla) in the number 9 position. The next season was just amazing for me and I had a great time.
Movement from Eupen to Everton
Following a great performance with Eupen, I got a transfer to Everton in the English Premier League. By the time I got to Everton, I had not really played for the Super Eagles and as you know, it’s always difficult to get a work permit in England without a certain percentage of matches with the national team. And because of the established relationship between Everton and Anderlecht, I was sent on loan back to the Belgian club in order for me to be playing regularly and it was a good experience for me going to Anderlecht. I won’t say I regretted not being able to play with Everton because Anderlecht really pushed my career to where I belong today. Of course, it’s always a dream of every player to get a club and play in the Premier League but I knew if I had the work permit, I would have played at Everton. It wasn’t something I could push for since I don’t have the mandatory percentage number of national team matches to be able to play in the Premier League.
Adjusting to European football challenge at Anderlecht
I had a great experience playing in the UEFA Champions League at Anderlecht where I played against teams like PSG, amongst others. Doing well in the game against PSG really brought a lot of attention to me by several clubs. Upon arrival in Anderlecht, I was so happy when I was told about the legacy left behind by some former Nigerian players at Anderlecht and, notably, the late Stephen Keshi. Anderlecht is on the Flemish side of Belgium and they told me that they already had a legend from Nigeria in the past and which was the late Stephen Keshi. It was really nice to be told that there was a Nigerian that did his best and left a legacy long before I arrived at Anderlecht. I had a great welcome at Anderlecht and they gave me all that I needed in order to excel but the only bad thing was getting injured in the middle of the season.
Turkish delight with Galatasaray
I had an amazing time at Galatasaray as well. I was the first Nigerian to play for Galatasaray. We’ve had several Nigerian players in Turkey that played for Fenerbahce, Besiktas and the rest but I’m the first Nigerian to play for one of the biggest clubs in Turkey with Galatasaray. I was told that I was the first young player the club ever signed from outside because the club usually buy experienced players or get them on loan because of their status in Turkey. I was well loved and I really had an amazing time there. The fans showed special love to me and they would be chanting my name even when I’m not on the pitch so that the coach can put me on. It was really an incredible time for me because there is nothing a young player needs than the support of the team and fans and I had everything while at Galatasaray.
Growing up with Super Eagles
It is a great feeling also for me to be in the Super Eagles and especially being part of the team to the 2019 AFCON (Africa Cup of Nations) in Egypt. Though I didn’t get enough time to play at the AFCON, I still consider it another great step for my career. It is the decision of the coach to decide who and who plays and at what point. But at my age, it’s something amazing to be at the AFCON. It was a good experience though I was on the bench mostly; we didn’t take the cup but we did well and I think we were unlucky in the semi-final match against Algeria . I think if we’d passed Algeria, we would have taken the cup. It was hard luck, but we took the bronze medal and I was happy to be part of the team.
Looking ahead to Qatar 2022
Of course, it would be amazing to go to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar because that was a country where I learned so much from. One great thing about Qatar is the fact that they have great facilities and it would be nice when they host the FIFA World Cup in 2022. Looking at the massive infrastructure at Aspire would give anybody an idea of what Qatar would offer to the world and football in 2022. By the grace of God, it would also be an amazing feeling for me to go back to Qatar in 2022 to play at the World Cup because that was where my career took a better direction. I missed out of the Russia 2018 World Cup because I was injured , so I’m looking forward to 2022 and as usual, I’ll be working hard to be part of the team.
Being part of Super Eagles’ new Generation
It’s true we have a great pool of young players in the present Super Eagles and it’s always nice to be in the squad with the likes of Paul Onuachu, Victor Osimhen, and Samuel Chukwueze, amongst others. I know if we keep working hard, we can do better than we have done recently because we have some great players in this group. It is just a matter of time and with hard work, we can achieve something greater for the country. The 2022 World Cup is still very far and I know we would have gained more valuable experience by then.
My kind of personality
I’m just a young lad who is trying to make a name for himself both in and outside the field. Apart from football, I want to leave a legacy behind even outside of football so that those players coming behind would be able to say that I served the country well. I want to be a good example to youngsters not only in football but in other spheres of life as well. I take life as it comes; I pray and hope for the best. I would be very happy if I can live forever young. I always think about life after football . I love football very much and I don’t think I would be far away from football when I finally retire. But I wouldn’t want to be far away from my family because football usually takes people away from their families. I’m always happy when I see my childhood friends progressing and I’m also happy the same way when I see members of my family happy and progressing. I have twin sisters and I’m the last born and the only boy in my family.
My mother and I
I have a special bond with my mum because she has always been there for me. She’s the number one backbone to me. My dad is a busy type and that gives my mum the opportunity to do most things for me, especially regarding my football career. She was always there to watch my matches right from the start while I was growing up in Surulere and she was even the one that signed my contract and all the documents when I went to Aspire. She’d been there to represent, sign and fight for me.
Between Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo
For many, it has to be Messi because he’s just too amazing. The same goes for Ronaldo and I think he (Ronaldo) is the sort of player every young player should watch and learn from. He works very hard to where he is today. Ronaldo is gifted but Messi is extra gifted because he seems to have been born with ball at his feet. He’s naturally talented. Ronaldo has to work extra to enhance the talent he has and he wouldn’t achieve more if he’d not worked very hard to get to the top. Ronaldo doesn’t have what Messi has but he has pushed himself to the top of the game too.
