In this exclusive interview with Footy-Africa, Osuji Patrick Okechukwu, popularly known as “Campos,” opens up on Christantus Uche’s remarkable journey from Owerri to European football, his dealings with renowned football super-agent Jorge Mendes, his fallout with agent Peter Ejiasi, and allegations of financial discrepancies surrounding Uche’s transfer to Getafe and other player deals.
Osuji Patrick Okechukwu, popularly known as “Campos,” needs little introduction within Nigeria’s football community.
Widely regarded as one of the country’s most successful football academy owners, Campos has built a strong reputation for discovering and nurturing some of Nigeria’s brightest football talents through his renowned academy, Campos FC, based in Owerri, Imo State, in the southeastern part of the country.
Over the years, the academy has produced several international stars, including Francis Uzoho, the Super Eagles goalkeeper currently playing for AC Omonia in Cyprus, and Tochukwu Nnadi, who now features for French giants Olympique de Marseille.
The latest standout talent to emerge from Campos FC is Christantus Uche, whose rapid rise has drawn widespread attention following his move from Getafe CF and subsequent loan switch to Crystal Palace F.C.
Uche’s journey to the top
You have developed many top players through Campos FC. Can you tell us how you discovered Chrisantus Uche and his journey from Owerri to European football?
Uche is a boy we discovered at a very tender age. Even when he was around 10 or 11 years old, he loved playing with great passion. Whenever we played matches—whether we drew or lost—you would see him crying. That was how much he cared. That winning mentality was there from the beginning.
As he grew older, he played in competitions like the Etisalat Cup and represented us at the state level. His development was a product of all those competitions. From there, we promoted him to our first team. Around 2001 or 2002, we gained promotion from the lower league into the Nigeria National League (NNL).
Later, when we played the Super 8 in Ikenne, even the owner of Remo Stars, Kunle Soname, noticed some of our players, including Nzubechi Obei, William Henry and Uche Cristantus. But at that time, the boys said they did not want to play in the Nigerian League. Even when Rivers United came for Uche, they still said they did not want to play locally.
At that point, a friend of mine who had taken one of my boys to Spain introduced me to agent Peter Ejiasi. He originally wanted to move some of my players to Sporting CP in Portugal, but we eventually started the process for Uche.
Uche was invited to the Nigerian U-20 team when Ladan Bosso was preparing for the U-20 World Cup in Argentina. He was doing very well at camp. Coach Bosso liked him so much and even adjusted his system to accommodate both him and Daniel Daga in the same team.
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Unfortunately, he did not make the final squad. There were issues with his passport—they asked for an old passport, then there were affidavit complications. Before everything was resolved, the final squad had already been selected, so he missed out on the World Cup. Later, he also got an invitation to the U-23 team, although he remained on the bench and did not play.
After that, we arranged for him to move to Spain and he joined Moralo CP in the fourth or fifth division. He played as a defensive midfielder and did very well. We did not get money at that stage because the focus was on helping him develop. He later moved to AD Ceuta, where he continued to grow. At that time, Ceuta was in the third division. He played regularly, gave his best, and attracted many clubs.
Eventually, Getafe came on board. Their coach decided to use him in an attacking role. Naturally, he is not a striker—he is more of a defensive midfielder. He is strong, energetic and hardworking. But they used him in almost every game, and that was his journey to the top.
Fallout with the agent
At what point did your relationship with agent Peter Ejiasi begin to deteriorate, and what led to the dispute between both parties?
We had many issues with Peter Ejiasi of Pintex Sport Agency, who was once my good friend.
When the transfer money started coming through Getafe, everything changed. The agent started behaving differently. He stopped communicating properly. He even tried to create problems between me, the player, and the player’s parents, for reasons best known to him.
The parents of Uche began accusing me, saying I had taken money that belonged to them. I told them I did not understand what they meant. I groomed this boy from an amateur to a professional. He was not a minor, and they had his direct contact. My issue was simply with the agent and my rightful transfer fee. I did not want any problems with his parents because they are good people.
We kept going back and forth with the agent, but I did not want to create unnecessary problems, so I told the boy to focus on his football and kept the matter away from the media.
But the issue was never resolved, and to my greatest surprise, the agent made sure the boy stopped speaking to me. Imagine—a boy I raised from a young age, and because of a dubious agent, I could no longer speak to him. The agent made the player block everyone from Campos FC—management, coaches, everyone.
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Transfer to AC Milan and Wolves been sabotaged
You mentioned there was interest from Wolves and AC Milan. What exactly happened during those transfer discussions, and why do you believe those moves did not materialise?
In the summer, when Wolves wanted to reach out regarding the player, there were problems.
You know Jorge Mendes—the agent who managed Cristiano Ronaldo and has links with Wolves. I received a call because they wanted to speak directly with the boy, but Peter refused to allow the move to Wolves. They contacted me to help connect them to the player, but I could not openly say that I no longer had contact with him.
Later, Shira from Lagos, who had worked with Victor Osimhen, reached out to me. He told me Mendes wanted the player and that the boy should not go to Crystal Palace. I gave him the boy’s contact because I had already been blocked.
Eventually, discussions continued. Then we heard AC Milan had also become interested. There had been another Nigerian player, Victor Boniface, linked with AC Milan whose deal did not work out, so they were looking again. To be honest, Peter met with Mendes and they agreed on a sharing formula for the agency arrangement. Peter accepted the Wolves deal. But later, he went back and told the boy to say he did not like the salary Wolves were offering him.
The salary was about £1.2 million, and it was the same amount Crystal Palace was offering. But Peter did not want to share money with anyone. That is the problem. He is only interested when it benefits him financially. I truly believe some of the advice he gave Uche may have affected his future. He could have gone to Wolves. He could even have gone to AC Milan.
Campos FC still owed £2 million
What are your main concerns regarding the financial aspects of Uche’s transfer, and what do you believe Campos FC is still owed?
We were never shown the full transfer documents, so we could not verify the actual transfer fees. The figures online were different—some said €500,000, others said something else. With the agreed sharing formula, we should know exactly what we are entitled to.
But what we received was not what we were supposed to get. We received only €85,000 from Getafe, and it should have been more.
Crystal Palace claimed the move was a loan, but we know they paid something. Loans involve payments too. Yet we did not receive a single kobo from Crystal Palace. How can a player of that level move to Crystal Palace and nothing comes to the academy?
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has even looked into the case between us and Peter because he is Nigerian. But he has refused to honour both our agreement and even NFF instructions to pay us. If everything had been handled properly, with solidarity payments, training compensation and sell-on percentages, my academy should have received close to £2 million or more.
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Story goes beyond Uche’s case
You have suggested this issue goes beyond Chrisantus Uche. Are there other players affected by similar disputes involving the same agent?
The same issue applies to other players like Sixtus Ogbuehi.
For example, Sixtus Ogbuechi, who is now in Belgium, was transferred to Eldense from Campos and he then moved to Kortrijk in Belgium and money has been paid, but we are still fighting through FIFA to get what belongs to us. As I speak, for Sixtus Ogbuehi, Campos FC has not received a dime from that transfer. Peter wants to frustrate us.
There is also another man called Abuchi, who used to support Peter. Abuchi was the one providing money for tickets and helping with player welfare. He bought boots and supported the boys in many ways.
Yet Peter cut him out too and denied him his share. Abuchi fought and even reported Peter to the NFF through us.Eventually, after all the struggle, they managed to get him only about €5,000 to €8,000.
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‘I did not want things to go public, but it was unfair’
How has this experience affected you personally and what does it mean for the future of Campos FC?
This is a heartbreaking situation. I am not happy. These are boys we discovered, developed and raised. Now they have been turned against us. Many of them no longer speak to us. However, the problem is not the players—it is the agent. These boys are under pressure and influence.
We simply asked to see the transfer documents so we could know the real figures and calculate what belongs to us. Peter also had a formal agreement with us. Even the amount we received is still not what we were supposed to get. We should have received over €200,000.
And even from our share, he still deducted money. He decided to give the player’s parents €30,000—but he took it from our money without permission. I asked him: “If you want to support the parents, shouldn’t that come from your own agency fee?”
Eventually, after I explained the issue to the parents and my UK lawyer pressured Peter, he sent the money to a UK account, and it was then forwarded to the parents. I kept quiet because I did not want things to go public, but it was unfair.
What hurts me most is that this money could have helped build something lasting for the academy. It could have improved our facilities and helped develop even more young players.
