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Five Most Expensive Nigerian Players of All Time

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Football is not only a globally acclaimed sport, it is one of the biggest money spinning sports in the world.

 

The sport is followed all over the world including Nigeria where there are millions of football fans and hundreds of thousand kids who are looking to make a career out of football.

 

This may not be unconnected to the popularity it enjoys in Nigeria and the fortune that comes with top level football.

 

Many Nigerian players have made names for themselves using their talents making them some

of the most sought after players from the African continent.

 

With the amount of talents from the country turning for some of the biggest European clubs, with millions of Euros in transfer fees.

 

Since the late 70s when Nigerian players began to move to Europe, clubs have spent a sizeable amount of money to secure the services of some of Nigeria’s top talents.

 

This article will list the top five most expensive Nigerian players in history:

 

1. Victor Osimhen (Lille to Napoli – €80 million)

 

Former U-17 World Cup winner Victor Osimhen is unarguably Nigeria’s best marksman anywhere across the globe.

 

The Napoli striker holds the enviable record of being the most expensive Nigerian player with a transfer fee of €70 million rising to €80 million.

 

This feat was achieved when he made the move from French outfit, Lille to Napoli in the Summer of 2020.

 

The former Wolfsburg striker is repaying the faith with a torrent of goals for the Partenopei.

 

With his rate of goalscoring and consistency, smart money will be on him to break his own record. Want to take a punt on that? You can look through the list of betting sites with welcome bonuses in Nigeria.

 

2. Alex Iwobi (Arsenal to Everton – €35 million)

 

Alex Iwobi is the second most expensive Nigerian international after Victor Osimhen.

 

The Everton midfielder made the switch North of England from Arsenal in the summer of 2019 for a fee of €35 million.

 

Iwobi is a product of the famed Arsenal Academy, but he was deemed surplus to requirements by Spanish gaffer, Unai Emery.

 

3. Kelechi Iheanacho (Manchester City to Leicester City – €27 million)

 

Kelechi Iheanacho was snapped up by Manchester City following his impressive display at the 2013 U-17 World Cup.

 

He quickly got promoted to the senior side after a series of stellar displays in the youth ranks.

 

However, a few years later he struggled for regular playing time and he made the decision to join Leicester city for a fee of €27 million.

 

4. Calvin Bassey (Rangers to Ajax – €23 million)

 

Super Eagles defender, Calvin Bassey comes in at number four on the list of the five most expensive Nigerian players ever.

 

The former Leicester city player moved from Rangers in the Scottish top flight to Ajax for a fee of €23 million.

 

He was solid in the heart of the defence for Rangers and in his time at Ibrox, he helped them to a league title, Cup win and a run to the final of the Europa League.

 

5. Ademola Lookman (Everton to RB Leipzig – €22.5)

 

Ademola Lookman burst into the scene with the youth teams of  Charlton Athletic and England.

 

After Winning the Youth World Cup, he made the move to Everton where he scored four goals in 48 appearances for the toffees.

 

However, he made a move on loan to German club, RB Leipzig before they made it permanent for a fee of €22.5 million.

 

He has since moved on to join Atalanta in the Italian top flight.

 

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