Who is the richest footballer in Nigeria? Usually, there are many variables to this question, but we’ll keep it simple and restrict this discourse to the salaries the players earn as of 2024.
Restricting it to their current salaries keeps out the likes of John Obi Mikel, Yakubu Aiyegbeni, Odion Ighalo and Obafemi Martins, who, on account of accumulated wealth over the years, top the list of richest footballer in Nigeria.
So, back to the question. Which player is the richest footballer in Nigeria? Here are our top ten based on current earnings.
SEE ALSO | Joseph Yobo Biography, Wife, Net Worth, Salary, House, Cars
The Richest Footballer In Nigeria – Top 10
10 – Ademola Lookman (£41,000)
Networth – £14 million | Market Value – €30m
Ademola Lookman looks simple and rarely displays a flamboyant lifestyle. The former Everton player who found his groove with Atalanta is number ten on our Richest footballer in Nigeria list.
Lookman’s highest pay day was at Fulham, where he earned over £50,000 weekly and has seen it drop significantly through Leicester City to Atalanta.
SEE ALSO | Top 5 Football Clubs With The Most Fans In Nigeria
9 – Emmanuel Dennis (£42,000)
Networth – £8,000,000 | Market Value – €5.5m
Emmanuel Dennis is on loan at Turkish club İstanbul Başakşehir. He joined from Nottingham Forest and earns £2,184,000 per year.
He has a net worth of £8,112,000. He has not turned up in the Turkish League but still goes home with a decent weekly wage.
On current form, he might see his wages drop in future.
8 – Calvin Bassey earns (£45,000)
Networth – £2.1 Million | Market Value – €16m
Calvin Bassey joined Fulham from Ajax after a stint in the Scottish Premier League. He has not cemented his place with the Premier League club but goes home with a yearly salary of £2,340,000.
Bassey is one of the lowest earners in our richest footballer in Nigeria list with £45,000 per week wages.
SEE ALSO | Samuel Kalu Biography, House, Wife, Salary, Age, Net Worth
7 – Taiwo Awoniyi earns (£50,000)
Networth – £12.6 million | Market Value – €28m
Taiwo Awoniyi, who missed AFCON 2023, is one of the top earners in the Nigerian football circle. The former Union Berlin striker has earned his weight in goals and goes home with a more than decent weekly wage.
Awoniyi earns £50,000 weekly.
SEE ALSO | Top 10 Richest South African Footballers And Their Net Worth
6 – Joe Aribo earns (£70,000)
Networth – £8 million | Market Value – €6m
By any standard, Joe Aribo is a top earner in football. It is surprising how much he earns, as his mien does not give a clue about the money he goes home with weekly.
At £70,000 per week, Aribo is the highest earner at Southampton following the departure of Ward Prowse.
SEE ALSO | Samuel Chukwueze: All You Need To Know About The Winger
5 – Wilfred Ndidi earns (£75,000)
Networth – £25 million | Market Value – €18m
Demotion to the Championship has seen Wilfred Ndidi’s salary drop a notch. Despite the drop, the defensive midfielder earns a decent weekly wage.
Not many Premier League players earn as much as Ndidi does. He makes our list of the richest footballer in Nigeria at £75,000 a week.
SEE ALSO | Top 5 Richest Female Footballers In Nigeria And Their Net Worth
4 – Kelechi Iheanacho
Networth – £30 million | Market Value – €16m
Kelechi Iheanacho has paid his dues in the English Premier League and has seen his value and net worth rise.
He earns an estimated annual salary at Leicester City of £4,160,000 a year, which equates to £80,000 a week.
SEE ALSO | Highest Paid Liverpool Players: See Top 5 & Their Net Worth
3 – Samuel Chukwueze (£84,000)
Networth – £4 million | Market Value – €23m
Samuel Chukwueze is the biggest jumper in the list. At Villarreal, the winger earned less than £20,000 per week, but his lucrative deal with AC Milan has seen his salary jump more than four times.
The Abia state-born Super Eagles forward now earns a whopping £4,368,000 annually. Chukwueze has finally joined the big boys.
SEE ALSO | Top 10 Ghanaian Footballers And Their Wives: See Their Names
2 – Alex Iwobi (£100,000)
Networth – £31 million | Market Value – €35.9m
A retrospective look at Alex Iwobi's earnings reveals an interesting trajectory: In the 2023-2024 season, he earns £100,000 per week, totalling an annual salary of £5,200,000. In the 2022-2023 season, his earnings stood at £50,000 per week, amounting to £2,600,000 annually.
SEE ALSO | Amaju Pinnick Biography, House, Wife, Salary, Age, Net Worth
1 – Victor Osimhen (£170,000)
Networth – £8.5 million | Market Value – €110m
The freshly crowned African player of the year saw his current deal, set to expire in 2025, improve dramatically.
The Italian media reported that his salary has more than doubled to €10m (£8.7m) a season, with a release clause between €120m and €130m.
Based on earnings alone, Victor Osimhen is currently the richest footballer in Nigeria.
SEE ALSO | Richest Footballer In Africa – Top 10 & Their Net Worth
Note that only the net worth of active Nigerian footballers with available estimated net worth for 2021 is considered on this list of top 10 richest footballers in Nigeria.
This article was most recently revised and updated 8 months ago
