Divock Origi, Son of Kenyan Legend, to Pursue New Career After Football Retirement at 31

Divock Origi, the son of Kenyan legend Mike Okoth, has revealed what he plans to do next after announcing his retirement from football aged just 31.

Origi made the surprise announcement on Monday, bringing the curtains down on a successful football career that began in his country Belgium with Genk and then Lille at youth level before it blossomed as he joined the Lille senior team.

However, Origi is best remembered for his eight-year spell at Liverpool, between 2014 and 2022, where he came up with several clutch moments and claimed six trophies, including the Premier League and Champions League.

In total, Origi, who became a super-sub under manager Jurgen Klopp, scored 41 goals in 175 appearances, starting 68 of them, for Liverpool and they included key goals against Barcelona in the 2019 Champions League semi-final and in the final against Tottenham as well as a 96th-minute winner against bitter rivals Everton in the Merseyside derby.

That earned him cult hero status among Liverpool fans but his career took a turn for the worse when he left at the end of his contract in 2022 and joined AC Milan.

Origi made 36 appearances for Milan, scoring two goals in the 2022-23 season, and by the end of that term, the Serie A giants were not convinced. He would move on loan to Nottingham Forest for the 2023-24 season, managing one goal in 22 games before returning to Milan.

The Rossoneri dropped him to their second-string side where he never played a game until his contract was terminated in January 2026. Having not played for two years, Origi has opted to hung his boots and will be pursuing a completely different career.

“I’m excited about what’s next. I have new purpose and other things in life I want to pursue with the same passion I’ve pursued football all these years,” Origi wrote in the Players Tribune.

“For one, I’m really dedicated to pursuing fashion, as a craft. I’m already pouring myself into just gaining a ton more knowledge about the history and the industry. I aspire to study it at the highest level and hopefully have the opportunity to learn from some of the best designers in the world,” he added, revealing what is next for him.

The striker will, however, not leave football completely as he will be working alongside his friend Marvin Willem Ofori for Belgian football agency DLF Sports.

“I’m also going to continue to expand on the entrepreneurial side, with DLF, a football agency I’m developing with my partner and co-owner Marvin Willem Ofori,” he added.

“And ultimately, just looking for any opportunity to be a bridge, either for the next generation of football players, or more broadly, through my philanthropy. Or even just as a person.”

Origi earned 32 caps for Belgium, scoring two goals, and featured in the 2014 World Cup.

Born in Ostend, Belgium, legendary Kenyan striker Mike Okoth is Origi’s father but the player opted against representing Harambee Stars and he would later reveal that the approach he received was not convincing.

Football runs in the family as his uncle Austin Oduor, Mike’s brother, was a former Gor Mahia player while his cousin Arnold Origi was Harambee Stars’ first-choice goalkeeper for over five years.