Octopus Paul heads for retirement after World Cup glory

OBERHAUSEN - Paul the psychic octopus headed into well-deserved retirement Monday and will in future make children happy instead of footballers.

“He is retiring and says thank you to the whole world. It was a great World Cup,” Sea Life spokeswoman Tanja Munzig said on Monday.

Munzig said that Paul will do what he does best, making children happy in his aquarium, as he had before the World Cup.

Paul became a global star when he accurately forecast all of Germany’s seven World Cup games. And he then topped it all by also predicting Spain’s win over the Netherlands in the final.

Paul made his famous predictions, which were in the end even televised live, by being offered a mussel each in two tanks, each with the flag of respective nation. The nation whose mussel he chose would win the match.

Politicians, players and coaches were as gripped by Paul-mania as the rest of the world, his forecasts proving a good distraction from the often dour football played in South Africa - and a huge PR stunt for Sea Life as well.

Munzig reaffirmed that Paul is absolutely not for sale and won’t make other predictions either as requested by many.