The Most Famous

SOCCER PLAYERS from Nigeria

This page contains a list of the greatest Nigerian Soccer Players. The pantheon dataset contains 21,273 Soccer Players, 184 of which were born in Nigeria. This makes Nigeria the birth place of the 26th most number of Soccer Players behind Chile, and Switzerland.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Nigerian Soccer Players of all time. This list of famous Nigerian Soccer Players is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Nigerian Soccer Players.

1. Jay-Jay Okocha (b. 1973)

With an HPI of 63.13, Jay-Jay Okocha is the most famous Nigerian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 47 different languages on wikipedia.

Augustine Azuka "Jay-Jay" Okocha ( ə-KOTCH-ə; born 14 August 1973) is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He had 73 caps for the Nigeria national team between 1993 and 2006, scoring 14 goals, and was a member of three FIFA World Cup squads. He is regarded as one of the greatest African footballers of all time and one of the most influential dribblers in world football history. He played across multiple leagues, starting his career at Enugu Rangers in the Nigerian Professional Football League before moving to Borussia Neunkirchen in the Oberliga Südwest, Germany's third division, in July 1990. He played in the Bundesliga, Süper Lig, Ligue 1, Premier League, EFL Championship, and Qatar Stars League before his retirement in 2008.

2. John Obi Mikel (b. 1987)

With an HPI of 62.75, John Obi Mikel is the 2nd most famous Nigerian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 62 different languages.

Mikel John Obi (born John Michael Nchekwube Obinna; 22 April 1987), also known as John Obi Mikel, is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. Mikel began his career with local club Plateau United, before joining Norwegian club Lyn at the age of 17 in 2004. In 2006, he made a controversial transfer to English club Chelsea after Manchester United claimed they had already signed him. He stayed with Chelsea for 11 years where he won multiple titles, including two Premier League titles, four FA Cups, and the 2011–12 Champions League. After leaving Chelsea, he had brief stints at Tianjin TEDA, Middlesbrough, Trabzonspor, Stoke City and Kuwait SC. In a 14-year international career between 2005 and 2019, he played 91 times for Nigeria, scoring six goals. He went to five Africa Cup of Nations tournaments (winning in 2013), two World Cups, and won a bronze medal at the Olympics in 2016.

3. Victor Osimhen (b. 1998)

With an HPI of 59.00, Victor Osimhen is the 3rd most famous Nigerian Soccer Player. Her biography has been translated into 52 different languages.

Victor James Osimhen (born 29 December 1998) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Süper Lig club Galatasaray and the Nigeria national team. Regarded as one of the best strikers in the world, he is known for his elite athleticism, pace and finishing. Born in Nigeria, Osimhen began his senior career in Germany at VfL Wolfsburg in 2017. Following a season and a half at the club, he moved to Belgian side Charleroi on loan in 2018–19, before moving to Ligue 1 with Lille, scoring eighteen goals in his sole season with the French club. In 2020, Osimhen transferred to Serie A side Napoli for a club-record fee of €80 million and won the Serie A Best Young Player award in the 2021–22 season. In the following campaign, he finished as the league's top scorer with 26 goals, a record-high for an African player, as he helped Napoli win a first Serie A title in 33 years. For his efforts, he won the league's Best Striker award, prior to being named Serie A Footballer of the Year a few months later. Osimhen is currently the highest scoring African player in the history of Serie A. Osimhen was loaned to Turkish side Galatasaray ahead of the 2024–25 season, where he finished as the league's top scorer and won a domestic double. Osimhen won the Golden Boot award at the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup, which Nigeria won. He made his senior international debut in June 2017, and played at the Africa Cup of Nations in 2019 and 2023, reaching the final of the latter competition. He is currently the second all-time highest goalscorer of the Nigeria national team. On 29 May 2023, Osimhen was made a Member of the Federal Republic by President Muhammadu Buhari. Osimhen finished in eight place at the 2023 Ballon d'Or ceremony, becoming the first Nigerian to make the top ten of the French award. He was also named the African Footballer of the Year at the 2023 CAF Awards, the first Nigerian to receive this honour since Nwankwo Kanu in 1999.

4. Emmanuel Amunike (b. 1970)

With an HPI of 57.95, Emmanuel Amunike is the 4th most famous Nigerian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 31 different languages.

Emmanuel Amunike (born 25 December 1970) is a Nigerian professional football manager and former footballer who played as a winger.

5. Rashidi Yekini (1963 - 2012)

With an HPI of 57.90, Rashidi Yekini is the 5th most famous Nigerian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 33 different languages.

Rashidi Yekini (23 October 1963 – 4 May 2012) was a Nigerian professional footballer who played as a forward. Known by his Nigerian team mates and fans as "The Goals Father", he scored over 480 goals in over 670 games in his career. Yekini scored 37 goals in international matches and represented Nigeria in seven football tournaments, including two World Cups, where he scored the country's first-ever goal in the competition. He was also named the African Footballer of the Year in 1993. He is the third all time highest goalscorer in Africa Cup of Nations history with 13 goals.

6. Yakubu (b. 1982)

With an HPI of 57.55, Yakubu is the 6th most famous Nigerian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 47 different languages.

Yakubu Ayegbeni (born 22 November 1982), known mononymously as Yakubu, is a Nigerian football agent and former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is nicknamed "The Yak". His performances in the 2002–03 UEFA Champions League for Maccabi Haifa earned a loan move to English club Portsmouth which became permanent as they were promoted to the Premier League in 2003. He has since appeared in over 250 Premier League matches for Portsmouth, Middlesbrough, Everton, and Blackburn Rovers, and is the fourth highest African goalscorer in Premier League history with 96 goals. He is the fourth highest scorer in the history of the Nigeria national football team, and represented them at four African Cup of Nations finals, the 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2000 Summer Olympics.

7. Taribo West (b. 1974)

With an HPI of 56.99, Taribo West is the 7th most famous Nigerian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 32 different languages.

Taribo West (born 26 March 1974) is a Nigerian pastor and former professional footballer who played as a defender. He is best remembered for his various unusual and colourful hairstyles. After winning several major trophies with Auxerre in French football, West went on to play for both Milanese clubs, Inter Milan and AC Milan. He also appeared in the top-level leagues of England and Germany. At international level, West was capped 42 times for Nigeria between 1994 and 2005, taking part in two World Cups and two African Championships. He also represented his country at the 1996 Olympics, winning a gold medal.

8. Tijani Babangida (b. 1973)

With an HPI of 56.67, Tijani Babangida is the 8th most famous Nigerian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 29 different languages.

Tijani Babangida (; born 25 September 1973) is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a winger. Known for his pace, his playing style was sometimes compared to that of Marc Overmars. Babangida spent the majority of his playing career at Ajax. Overall, he played in five countries on three continents. At club level, Babangida spent nine years in the Netherlands, playing for Roda JC, VVV-Venlo, Ajax, and Vitesse. winning the Eredivisie plus KNVB Cup double with the last side. He played over 30 games for his national side, including four at the 1998 World Cup in France. He participated in two Africa Cup of Nations tournaments and won the 1996 Olympics with Nigeria. Babangida made his international debut in 1994. He lost his place in the squad right before the 2002 World Cup. After a two-year lay-off from international football, Babangida was recalled to the Nigeria team for the 2004 African Cup of Nations preparations in Tunisia.

9. Alex Iwobi (b. 1996)

With an HPI of 55.43, Alex Iwobi is the 9th most famous Nigerian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 47 different languages.

Alexander Chuka Iwobi ( ih-WOH-bee; born 3 May 1996) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Fulham and the Nigeria national team. Iwobi began his career at Arsenal, with whom he won the FA Cup in 2017 and finished as runner-up for the EFL Cup in 2018 and UEFA Europa League in 2019. In 2019, Iwobi transferred to Everton, and in 2023 he joined Fulham. Iwobi represented England up to under-18 level. He made his senior international debut for Nigeria in October 2015, and was part of their squads at the FIFA World Cup in 2018 and the Africa Cup of Nations in 2019, 2021 and 2023, finishing third at the 2019 tournament, and runner-up at the 2023 tournament.

10. Sunday Oliseh (b. 1974)

With an HPI of 55.17, Sunday Oliseh is the 10th most famous Nigerian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 33 different languages.

Sunday Ogochukwu Oliseh (born 14 September 1974) is a Nigerian football manager and former footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. Physical yet technically gifted, he played for top European clubs including Ajax, Borussia Dortmund and Juventus. He is widely regarded as one of the best African midfielders of all time.

People

Pantheon has 192 people classified as Nigerian soccer players born between 1952 and 2002. Of these 192, 181 (94.27%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Nigerian soccer players include Jay-Jay Okocha, John Obi Mikel, and Victor Osimhen. The most famous deceased Nigerian soccer players include Rashidi Yekini, Stephen Keshi, and Peter Rufai. As of April 2024, 16 new Nigerian soccer players have been added to Pantheon including Tolu Arokodare, Bobby Adekanye, and Akor Adams.