Yakubu Aiyegbeni has never stopped loving Everton, and a recent return to Merseyside showed the feeling is entirely mutual.
Former Super Eagles striker Yakubu Aiyegbeni has spoken warmly about his time at Everton, calling it the place where he played his best football and describing his recent return to Merseyside as one of the most emotional experiences of his retirement. The 43-year-old, who scored 33 goals and provided 12 assists in 107 games across four seasons at Everton, was seen near the Hill Dickinson Stadium during the Toffees’ 3-0 victory over Chelsea in March, greeted by fans chanting his famous terrace tribute.
Speaking in an interview with Everton’s official website, Yakubu was direct about where his heart lies. “Signing for Everton was a great moment. I fell in love from day one. It’s a special club. We call it the People’s Club. The fans are so friendly. The way they welcomed me was so special.” The visit also carried personal meaning: he was with his daughter when the supporters showed their affection, and he said seeing that through her eyes made it unforgettable. Fans who want to back Everton in the Premier League run-in can check out the Bet9ja bonus conversion guide to make the most of their opening welcome offer.
A Record That Still Stands Alone in the Premier League
Yakubu’s legacy in English football rests not just on his goal tally but on a very specific statistical distinction. He is one of only five players in Premier League history to have scored a hat-trick for three different clubs: Portsmouth, Everton and Blackburn Rovers. The others in that list are Nicolas Anelka, Kevin Campbell, Les Ferdinand and Teddy Sheringham. It is elite company for a forward who arrived in England relatively unknown and became one of the most feared strikers of his era.
His time at Everton from 2007 to 2011 was the centrepiece of that English career. He averaged just over eight goals per season for the club, which is a respectable return in the Premier League, but it was the nature of his hold-up play, his link work with Tim Cahill and Mikel Arteta, and his physical presence in the box that made him such a consistent threat. Bet9ja welcome bonus details are available for supporters wanting to follow the Premier League title race to its conclusion.
Where He Stands in Nigeria’s Goalscoring History
Yakubu Aiyegbeni sits fourth on Nigeria’s all-time international goalscoring list with 21 goals across 57 appearances for the Super Eagles. Only Segun Odegbami (23 goals), Victor Osimhen (currently second and closing fast) and Rashidi Yekini (37 goals, the all-time record) are above him. Osimhen, who has scored 35 goals in 45 senior appearances as of April 2026, is tracking Yekini’s record at a pace that suggests the all-time mark could fall in the next two to three years if he stays fit.
That context gives Yakubu’s story an extra dimension. He was one of the best Nigerian strikers of his generation, but the generation after him has produced Osimhen and Lookman, arguably Nigeria’s two most gifted attacking players in history. The country keeps producing them. What it hasn’t done consistently is take them to the World Cup, a fact that would not have been lost on Yakubu watching Nigeria miss out on 2026. Fans keen to follow the Premier League through its closing weeks can get the details of the Nigeria’s top Bet9ja code before the title race is decided.
📌 Did You Know?
- Yakubu Aiyegbeni was born in Benin City, Edo State, and began his professional career at Julius Berger FC in the Nigerian Premier League before moving to Maccabi Haifa in Israel and then Hapoel Kfar-Saba, which launched his European career.
- Yakubu’s hat-trick for Everton came in a 7-1 Premier League demolition of Sunderland in November 2007, the same match in which he also scored a first-half hat-trick that took him to the top of the Premier League scoring charts at the time.
- Everton’s 3-0 win over Chelsea in March 2026 that Yakubu attended as a guest was a significant result in the Premier League’s top-four race. Yakubu’s presence in the crowd at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, their new ground, was celebrated by supporters on social media.
- Yakubu scored 23 goals for Portsmouth before joining Middlesbrough and then Everton, but it was his Everton spell that brought him regular European football, as the club competed in the UEFA Cup and later the Europa League during his time there.
- The chant “Feed the Yak and he will score” became one of the most popular terrace songs at Goodison Park during Yakubu’s time at the club and remains synonymous with his era there even among the current generation of Everton supporters.
- Victor Osimhen, now second on Nigeria’s all-time goalscoring list, needs just three more goals to overtake Segun Odegbami’s tally of 23 goals. If he maintains his current scoring rate for the Super Eagles, he could reach Yekini’s record of 37 before the 2027 AFCON.
- Everton moved from Goodison Park, their home for over 130 years, to the new Hill Dickinson Stadium on the waterfront at Bramley-Moore Dock in 2025, making Yakubu’s return to Merseyside his first visit to the club’s new home.
