Know the Top 10 richest footballers in Nigeria (2023)
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Revealed: Top 10 Richest Nigerian footballers in 2023

Know the Top 10 richest footballers in Nigeria (2023)

Faruq Ibrahim 23:59 - 08.03.2023

We have compiled an up-to-date list of the richest footballers in Nigeria.

We have curated a Moneyball league of Nigerian footballers, compiling an up-to-date list of the richest footballers in Nigeria.

Our Nigerian stars are shining all around the globe, with Osimhen currently the most acclaimed star from the green-white-green nation; however, the Lagos-born striker is missing from this list, which ranks the off-the-pitch type of balling. 

Many veterans from the nearest past of Nigerian football are prominent on this list; however, there are entries in the top ten for recent superstars as well. According to one of Nigeria's top bookmakers, the off-the-pitch performance of these players is as crucial as their on-field skills.

Without further ado, here are the top 10 richest footballers in Nigeria

10. Alex Iwobi (Net worth: £6–10 million)

Alex Iwobi is the 10th richest footballer in Nigeria for 2023, with an estimated net worth of £6–10 million.  

The Nigeria international currently plays for Everton in the Premier League and earns an impressive £100,000 a week, which amounts to £5,200,000 per year, for his job as a midfielder for the Merseyside outfit. 

Alex Iwobi has been Everton's best player this season
Alex Iwobi has been Everton's best player this season

Iwobi was previously at Arsenal, where according to Salary Sport, he earned £53,000, or £2.7 million a year.

He is also involved in many endorsement deals, both in Nigeria and overseas, helping him climb towards his estimated net worth.

His worth could shoot up since and see him climb higher among the richest footballers in Nigeria, as he is set for a contract renewal with Everton, with a salary increase to go with it

9. Kelechi Iheanacho (Net worth: £8–10 million)

Iheanacho colloquially referred to as 'senior man' takes his place at number nine among the richest footballers in Nigeria following a nine-year career in England across two clubs

Kelechi climbed from £10,000 to £50,000 at Manchester City, and following his move to Leicester City, he has seen his paycheck rise steadily to his current £90,000 weekly wage, or £4,680,000 per annum.

Iheanacho posing with his car
Iheanacho posing with his car

The Leicester City striker reportedly has investments in real estate and has been pictured with luxury cars, specifically a Range Rover, a Mercedes c300, and a BMW i8.

8. Wilfred Ndidi (Net worth: £8–15 million)

Next on the list of the richest footballers in Nigeria is Iheanacho's club teammate, Wilfred Onyinye Ndidi.

Wilfred Ndidi/via Instagram
Wilfred Ndidi/via Instagram

According to Salary Sport, the Leicester City defensive midfielder currently earns £76,000 every week at Leicester and has earned a whopping £23 million from football salaries over the course of his career.

Ndidi is also involved in businesses, and he gets paid for endorsement deals.  

7. Emmanuel Emenike (Net worth: £10–15 million)

The 2013 AFCON winner had a club career that spanned many teams and leagues, playing for Fenerbahce, Spartak Moscow, Cape Town, West Ham, and Olympiacos, among others.  

The former striker frequently refers to himself as wealthy and is the principal of numerous real estate investments, including EE29 hotels and suites; he has also been photographed with luxury automobiles.  

6. Yakubu Aiyegbeni (Net worth: £15–20 million)

The Yak is one of the best strikers in the Premier League era and one of the richest footballers in Nigeria today.  

Yakubu had an illustrious career, playing for Portsmouth, Everton, Middlesbrough, Leicester, Blackburn, and Al Rayyan, among others.  

The Auchi-born striker is said to be a real estate mogul, including the ownership of a hotel business and petrol stations.  

5. Victor Moses (Net worth: £25–40 million)

Victor Moses, who currently plays for Spartak Moscow, has enjoyed an illustrious playing career for the Nigerian National Team and across the many teams he played for.  

The winger was on the books of Chelsea for most of his career, but he enjoyed loan spells at Inter Milan, Fenerbahce, West Ham, Stoke City, and Liverpool, among others.

At the height of his career at Chelsea, he earned £75,000 weekly, and over the course of his career, he has earned over £28 million in salaries, according to Salary Sport.

Coupled with his businesses and endorsement deals over the years, his net worth is estimated at around £25–40 million, earning him the 5th place on this list highlighting the richest footballers in Nigeria.  

4. Ahmed Musa (Net worth: £25–40 million)

The Super Eagles captain currently earns a paltry £16,000 as a weekly payment for Turkish side Sivasspor, but he has enjoyed bigger pay earlier in his career and is involved in several businesses that help him rank as high as 4th on the richest footballers in Nigeria list. 

Musa is reported to own filling stations and a multimillion-naira sports and fitness centre in Hotoro, Kano.

He is also regularly pictured enjoying the finer luxuries in life, as is expected of one of the richest footballers in Nigeria.

3. Odion Ighalo (Net worth: £30–40 million)

Odion Ighalo is one of the highest-paid Nigerians currently, enjoying a reported £135,000 weekly at Saudi club Al-Hilal.

Ighalo has played for many clubs, but he made the most money playing for Shanghai Shenhua in the Chinese League, where he was earning £100,000 weekly, and his loan at Manchester United, where he reportedly earned a whopping £300,000 according to Salary Sport. 

His net worth is estimated to be around £30–40 million, and he is the second-richest Nigerian footballer.  

2. Obafemi Martins (Net worth: £35–40 million)

Obagoal had an illustrious playing career, representing Inter Milan, Newcastle United, Wolfsburg, Rubin Kazan, and Shanghai Shenhua, among others.

Martins scored ten Champions League goals, representing Inter Milan, Rubin Kazan and Wolfsburg
Martins scored ten Champions League goals, representing Inter Milan, Rubin Kazan and Wolfsburg

The former striker made a truckload of money in his playing career. Now that it is over, he is the patron of many businesses that have kept him rich and affluent enough to be among the richest footballers in Nigeria.

Martins reportedly makes money from car importation and his many real estate investments.  

1. John Mikel Obi (Net worth: £45–60 million)

The richest footballer in Nigeria is none other than Chelsea and Nigerian football legend John Mikel Obi.

Mikel helped Nigeria win the 2013 AFCON defeating Yaya Toure's Ivory Coast in the quarterfinals
Mikel helped Nigeria win the 2013 AFCON defeating Yaya Toure's Ivory Coast in the quarterfinals

He made a lot of money during his 10-year career at Chelsea before moving to the Chinese side, Shanghai Shenhua, for a huge payday.

He went on to play for Tianjin Teda and Middlesbrough and is now retired, but the money has not stopped streaming in for the father of twins. 

He reportedly owns an interstate transport company headquartered in Jos, Plateau State. He is also said to own a record label, Mature Money Minds (MMM), that signed a number of artistes at its time of launch in 2012.

He is the richest footballer in Nigeria and one of the greatest Nigerian footballers of all time

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