On his 35th birthday, ex-striker of the Nigerian national team Yakubu Ayegbeni, who spent most of his playing career in England, decided to end his performances.

"I am thankful to God and my family for my professional career," said Ayegbeni in an interview with Sky Sports. "I'm grateful to the Nigerian Football Federation and all the guys I've played with as part of the Superorl, all the teams, coaches, players, club owners, service personnel for those wonderful years that I could not even dream of when I first played as a professional for Julius Berger in 1997. Now I have to turn the page and start a new life ".

Yakubu played for Julius Berger (Nigeria), Gil Vicente (Portugal), Maccabi X and Hapoel KS (Israel), Portsmouth, Middlesbrough, Everton, Leicester, Blackburn, Reading and Coventry (England), Guangzhou for his 20-year career R & F (China), Al Ryan (Qatar) and Kayserispor (Turkey). In the national team of Nigeria (57 games, 21 goals) Ayegbeni participated in the finals of the 2010 World Cup.

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