With eight correct World Cup predictions for each of his eight tentacles, including Spain’s epic win against the Netherlands on Sunday, Paul the Octopus is quitting while he’s ahead.
While rumors circulate about the two-year-old octopus ‘ future—a Japanese company supposedly wants rights to the cephalopod’s name on fortune-telling machines and some are suggesting he be released into the wild—officials at the Sea Life Aquarium in Oberhausen maintain the mystic’s retirement.
“He won’t give any more oracle predictions – either in football, or in politics, lifestyle or economy. Paul will get back to his former job, namely making children laugh,” a spokeswoman from the German facility told the AP on Monday.
International conflict is also brewing amidst the psychic’s fame. A recent claim was made by Paul’s German trainer that he was caught off the coast of Tuscany, and not born in England as his official biography claims, leading Italy to boast that his name is “Paolo, not Paul”—never mind a Spaniard’s wanting to use him as a mascot at an upcoming festival.
Paul was presented with a mock gold World Cup trophy (complete with attached mussels) for his predictions Monday morning. But octopi of Paul’s kind typically only live three to five years, so it is unlikely he’ll be betting against Germany again.