92 in leadership. 90 in communication. 85 in content creation. On Maduka Okoye's personal website there's a section where the Udinese goalkeeper rates himself, as if he were filling out his own player card. You can laugh at him or call him an egomaniac, but in the meantime Maduka found himself sitting front row in Paris, next to Cardi B, at Jean Paul Gaultier's Haute Couture show. In a video now making the rounds online, the American rapper laughs and says, "It's really hot in here," while Okoye casually hands her a fan.
Fashion has always borrowed heavily from the world of sporting idols. There's nothing new about that.
It's easy enough if your name is David Beckham or LeBron James. It's a little less obvious when you play for Udinese and share a dressing room with Rui Modesto and Vakoun Bayo.
That said, spending time alongside Daniele Padelli, another goalkeeper with enough sex-symbol aura to pass as a professional model, may well have helped Okoye.
More than a goalkeeper
«Maduka Okoye is more than a goalkeeper, he is a brand, a personality, a role model.»
That's how he introduces himself in the About section of his website. A few lines later comes his motto, pray, dream big, work hard, followed by a list of commercial partnerships: fragrances, dental care, nutritional supplements. Everything is written in the same confident, almost corporate tone. It's a branding exercise that began years before social media decided to notice him. Okoye wasn't dressed by a fashion house that picked him as its face. He built his own narrative using the tools of a marketer long before anyone asked him to. If he weren't a footballer, or at least someone whose profession naturally attracts attention, he'd probably be one of LinkedIn's top voices.
Winning over the world, Okoye difficulty level
Winning over the world is admittedly a little easier when you're just under two metres tall and built like a sculpture.
The real challenge lies in the headlines that surrounded Okoye until only a few months ago. No Paris runways, no celebrity circles, but rather a two-month suspension over a suspicious booking linked to betting investigations, along with a turbulent love life.
To go from that to making headlines because of a supposed flirtation with Cardi B at the Jean Paul Gaultier show, complete with the label of "World Cup’s hottest player", despite never having played a single minute at one, is quite something.
Maduka Okoye, hats off.