Alex Iwobi: Bio, Goals For Nigeria, Club, Net Worth, Other Facts

• He was born in Lagos, South-Western Nigeria
• Iwobi played for England’s youth teams before playing for Nigeria
• He scored 9 goals for the Super Eagles

The Nigerian international professional soccer star Alex Iwobi plays the position of a winger in the English top-flight for Everton and the Super Eagles of Nigeria. He kicked off his professional club career at Arsenal, appearing in 149 games and hitting the net 15 times, and winning the FA Cup in 2017. He later left the Gunners and join Everton in an initial £28 million fee transfer, which rose to £34 million because of potential add-ons.

Iwobi represented England at the various youth levels before making his first international appearance for Nigeria in October 2015. Three years later, the winger was part of the Super Eagles squad at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and the 2019 and 2021 AFCON.

Keep reading to know more about his personality, career, and contributions to both club and country.

Early Life and Career of Alex Iwobi

 

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The former gunners’ winger was born in Lagos, South-West Nigeria on the 3rd of May 1996. Although his mother’s name is not known, his father Chuba Iwobi is a lawyer who was said to have relinquished his football dreams and studied law.

Iwobi was four months old when his family left Nigeria for England in search of greener pasture, although there are conflicting stories about that. Most of the reports say his family moved to Turkey when he was two, and moved to England two years later.

He is not the only child of his parents as he has a sister named, Marie Iwobi, whom together they grew up in Newham, London. The winger fell in love with football at a tender age and joined Arsenal academy when he was eight and still in primary school.

At seventeen, the Nigerian international made it to the Gunners’ first team as an unused substitute in a League Cup encounter with West Brom in September 2013. Two years later, he penned down a long-term deal with the North London outfit.

On 27th October 2015, he debuted for Arsenal’s first team in a 3-0 loss to Sheffield Wednesday in the League Cup’s Round of 16. His EPL debut came four days later in a 3-0 win against Swansea City, substituting for Mesut Ozil in stoppage time. Similarly, he had his first Champions League appearance as an 85th-minute substitute in a 5-1 loss to Bundes Liga giants, Bayern Munich.

Despite signing another new long-term contract with the Emirates club in August 2018, the winger left the following year to join Everton in a five-year contract.

See Also- Ahmed Musa: Quick Bio, Wives, All His Records, Net Worth, Other Facts

How Many Goals Has The Winger Scored for Country and Club?

 

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The 29 year-old Everton winger started playing for Nigeria in October 2015, coming as a replacement for Ahmed Musa in a 2-0 friendly loss to DR Congo in Belgium. The following year, he was listed in Nigeria’s 35-man provisional squad for the 2016 Summer Olympics, but he didn’t make it to the final 18.

His first goal for Nigeria came when he scored the only of the game against Zambia to help the Super Eagles secure a place at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. And his performance in the game earned him a spot in the 23-man squad for the competition. Even though he played all the three group games, Nigeria didn’t qualify for the last 16.

He scored one in 2016, three in 2017, one in 2018, two in 2019, and two in 2020, making it nine goals for Nigeria. Whereas he has fifteen goals from 149 appearances for the Gunners and three for the Toffees.

How Rich Is He?

The Nigerian winger makes money from his soccer career and various endorsement deals with brands. According to reports, he earned $7.8 and $10.4 million from his two contract extensions with the Gunners in October 2015 and August 2018, respectively. His reported £28 million transfer to the Toffees in 2019, see him receiving a weekly salary of £50, 000 ($68,450) and £2.6 million ($3.5 million) annually.

Iwobi also has an endorsement deal with Nike, LG, MultiChoice, and Pepsi. All these put together make him one of the richest Nigerian football players.

Currently, his net worth is estimated to be around $7 million.

Here Are Interesting Things About Alex Iwobi

1. How is he related to Jay-Jay Okocha?

Iwobi is a nephew of the former Nigerian soccer star Jay-Jay Okocha, but what people don’t know is how they are related. According to reports, the former Super Eagles player is a brother to Iwobi’s mother. So, that’s how Okocha became his uncle.

2. Okocha Influenced Iwobi’s decision to play for Nigeria

The winger could have been playing for Three Lions of England if not for his uncle’s influence. According to him, he saw the way Okocha Nigerian described his uncle when he visited Lagos and was wowed it.

So, he played for Nigeria, the country of his birth, instead of England.

3. Is he in any relationship?

Although we are not certain about his relationship status at the moment, he dated model Clarisse Juliette in the past. According to reports, the pair dated for four years before breaking up.

While the relationship was on, the duo always share pictures of each other on their social media pages, but they deleted them after the split. It was speculated that Iwobi’s unfaithfulness led to the breakup, although there is no confirmation to this claim.

4. How tall is he?

The 29 year-old Nigerian winger is of average height. He is 5 feet 11inches (1.80m) tall and his body weighs 75kg (165lbs).

5. His Accolades

The former Arsenal winger has won several accolades at the individual, club, and country levels. They include;

• FA Cup with Arsenal (2016/17)
• FA Community Shield with Arsenal (2015, 2017)
• EFL Cup runner-up with Arsenal (2017/18)
• UEFA Europa runner-up with Arsenal (2018/19)
• Victory Shield with England Under-16 (2011)
• AFCON third place with Nigeria (2019)
• CAF Youth Player of the Year (2016)
• CAF Team of the Year (2016)

Complete Profile of Alex Iwobi