Burna Boy, Vinicius, Jaylen Brown discuss coming to Nigeria

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Afrobeat singer, Damini Ogulu, popularly known as Burna Boy, has revealed that Real Madrid forward Vinícius Júnior and NBA star Jaylen Brown are members of a group chat where they recently discussed visiting Nigeria.

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Burna Boy disclosed this in an interview with ESPN UK, posted on its YouTube channel on Tuesday.

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The Grammy-winning singer said the three celebrities belong to what they call their “Seven group chat”.

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“Now we have a 7 team. It’s me, Vini, and I don’t know if you know Jaylen Brown,” Burna Boy said.

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When the interviewer confirmed that Brown is an NBA player, the singer replied, “Yeah, that’s our Seven group chat.”

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Asked what they discuss in the group, Burna Boy said their recent conversation centred on bringing the two sports stars to Nigeria.

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“It’s a lot of things. The last conversation we had is bringing all of them to Nigeria,” he said.

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The singer also spoke about his football academy in Nigeria, saying he was inspired to establish it after watching a documentary about community football in Jamaica.

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He said he wanted young footballers from the academy to eventually play for clubs such as Manchester United.

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“So I just started throwing my money at it,” Burna Boy said.

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Burna Boy also discussed his relationship with several sports stars, including former Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba and England captain Harry Kane.

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He said he met Pogba at his 30th birthday celebration in the United States after the former France international surprised him by showing up at his house.

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On Kane, Burna Boy said they met while the singer was attending his uncle’s birthday dinner.

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“We just ran into him having dinner. And, yeah, just dragged him to the party,” he said.

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The singer also identified former Nigeria international Austin “Jay-Jay” Okocha as his football GOAT, saying the former Bolton Wanderers midfielder had not received enough recognition for his influence on the game.

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“Obviously Jay-Jay Okocha, and I’ll tell you why,” Burna Boy said.

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“Because I feel like he—he hasn’t gotten the flowers that he deserves. You feel me? I feel like his name should be called in the leagues of, like, the—the legends’ legends.”

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Burna Boy further argued that Okocha’s name should be mentioned ahead of Brazilian legend Ronaldinho among the game’s greatest players.

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“I think you should even call Jay-Jay Okocha’s name before you call Ronaldinho,” he said.

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