Afrobeat star, Damini Ogulu, popularly known as Burna Boy, has revealed that Real Madrid forward Vinícius Júnior and Boston Celtics NBA star Jaylen Brown are part of a group chat where they recently discussed visiting Nigeria.
Burna Boy made the revelation during an interview with ESPN UK published on its YouTube channel on Tuesday.
According to the Grammy-winning singer, the trio belongs to what they refer to as their “Seven group chat.”
“Now we have a 7 team. It’s me, Vini, and I don’t know if you know Jaylen Brown,” Burna Boy said.
When the interviewer confirmed that Brown is an NBA player, the singer replied, “Yeah, that’s our Seven group chat.”
Burna Boy explained that the group discusses various subjects, with their most recent conversation focusing on bringing the two sports stars to Nigeria.
“It’s a lot of things. The last conversation we had is bringing all of them to Nigeria,” he said.
The singer also spoke about his football academy in Nigeria, explaining that the project was inspired by a documentary he watched about community football in Jamaica.
He said his ambition was to develop young footballers who could eventually play for top European clubs such as Manchester United.
“So I just started throwing my money at it,” Burna Boy said.
Burna Boy further recounted his encounters with other prominent footballers, including former Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba and England captain Harry Kane.
He said Pogba surprised him by turning up at his home during his 30th birthday celebration in the United States.
Regarding Kane, Burna Boy said they met while he was attending his uncle’s birthday dinner before the singer invited the England captain to the party.
“We just ran into him having dinner. And, yeah, just dragged him to the party,” he said.
The singer also named former Nigeria international Austin “Jay-Jay” Okocha as his football GOAT, arguing that the legendary midfielder has not received sufficient recognition for his impact on the sport.
“Obviously Jay-Jay Okocha, and I’ll tell you why,” Burna Boy said.
“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.”
Burna Boy went further, insisting that Okocha deserves to be mentioned among football’s greatest players ahead of Brazilian icon Ronaldinho.
“I think you should even call Jay-Jay Okocha’s name before you call Ronaldinho,” he said.
