Former Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy has revealed that his ex-teammates Kelechi Iheanacho and Wilfred Ndidi relied on a traditional ointment they called “juju cream” to speed up recovery from injuries during their years together at the King Power Stadium.
Vardy made the claim on his podcast.
“Jamie Vardy’s Having A Party,” during a discussion that had started around a Ghanaian witch doctor’s failed World Cup predictions. According to Vardy, the Super Eagles duo would head home after picking up injuries and return to the club with a container of the cream, which became the only substance the club masseuse was permitted to apply to the affected area.
However, whenever teammates asked where the cream came from, the pair would simply say it was sourced from a Nigerian witch doctor.
Vardy spent 13 years at Leicester and became teammates with Ndidi and Iheanacho from 2017, a partnership that spanned the club’s Community Shield and FA Cup triumphs. Meanwhile, Iheanacho departed the Foxes in 2024 after seven years, while Ndidi stayed on for one more season before making the move to Turkish football.
As a result of the podcast clip going viral, Ndidi addressed the claim directly on social media, clarifying that the substance was in fact just local shea butter, popularly known as “ori.” Following this clarification, several Nigerian observers noted that the “juju cream” tag had largely been a running joke between the players and their English teammates rather than a serious claim of mystical treatment.
The story lands as a lighthearted reminder of home remedies passed down through generations for most Nigerians. Shea butter remains a trusted, widely used treatment across Nigerian households, and it is not unusual for players abroad to stay connected to such practices, especially when they have relatives back home reinforcing their belief in its effectiveness. Consequently, what was framed abroad as mysterious “juju” is, to many at home, simply familiar, everyday care.
With Ndidi now settled at Besiktas and reportedly attracting interest from Premier League clubs including Manchester United and Hull City, and Iheanacho continuing his career away from Leicester, both players are likely to keep drawing attention off the pitch as well as on it. Meanwhile, the “juju cream” tale looks set to become one of those enduring dressing-room stories that follows both men throughout their careers.
