Nigerian legend Okocha reacts after Ozil referred to him as his idol

- Austin Okocha played at Turkish club Fenerbahce for two seasons and won two titles

- The Nigerian legend was referred to as an idol by German star Mesut Ozil

- Okocha has stated that he is delighted to get such a recognition from a world class player

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Former Nigerian international Austin Okocha has stated that it is pleasing for him to be regarded as an idol by German midfielder Mesut Ozil.

The Fenerbahce of Turkey star Ozil had disclosed this during an interactive Q&A session with his followers on Twitter that he idolized Jay Jay while growing up.

Ozil who was born in Germany to a Turkish family said that his favourite club was Fenerbahce as a young chap, where Super Eagles legend Okocha had spent two years.

Okocha who donned the clubs No.10 shirt during his stint with the club remains a cult hero thereafter scoring 34 times in 62 games.

He joined the Turkish outfit in 1996 from Dutch side Eintracht Frankfurt for about £1 million and following his success with Fenerbahce, PSG paid £14 million- an African record fee at that time- for his services.

And during the 'Question and Answer session' with Ozil, a fan asked: "What name and number were written behind the fb shirt you wore when you were younger?"

Ozil replied: "Number 10 and Jay Jay Okocha."

On the day he was unveiled at Fenerbahce, he further tweeted:

“About 20-25 years ago, I was an immigrant Turkish kid who was running after the soccer ball with the Fenerbahce shirt with the number 10 Jay Jay Okocha written on his back in the streets of Gelsenkirchen, thankfully, it was my honour to wear this jersey that I have been dreaming of for many years.”

In his reaction, Okocha who won two titles during his spell at the club tipped the German to be successful. He told Goal:

"I was very happy. I did not know about the last tweet Mesut Ozil posted. It is very pleasing to be the idol of such a world star player, to inspire him.

"Mesut is a world-class player. It is a very good thing (for him) to come to Fenerbahce. I think he will definitely be successful in Fenerbahce."

Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that Mesut Ozil has bid emotional farewell to Arsenal fans after completing a January switch to Turkish giants Fenerbahce.

He was left with no choice but to leave the Emirates after a tumultuous spell in his latter months with the Gunners.

The difficult period saw the midfielder fall out of favour under Mikel Arteta who axed him from his side's squad for the Premier League and Europa League.