Onyinye Wilfred Ndidi, a talented professional footballer from Nigeria, was born on December 16, 1996. He now plays defensive midfield for Leicester City in the Premier League and the Super Eagles of Nigeria. Ndidi’s father was an Army officer who later retired, therefore he was raised in the barracks.
Early Life
Wilfred Ndidi was born on December 16, 1996, in Lagos, Nigeria, to a military father who was serving at the time and a trader mother. He spent his childhood in the Military Cantonment in Ikeja, Lagos, which is located in Nigeria’s South-Western geopolitical region.
Career
Professional Career
On January 14th, 2015, Nath Boys Academy and Genk came to a €180,000 transfer deal about Ndidi. On January 15, 2015, the deal was completed. Ndidi made his Genk debut in the Belgian Pro League on January 31, 2015 against Charleroi, losing 1-0 away. He played the first 74 minutes of the match before being replaced by Jarne Vrijsen. In the Belgian League play-off game versus Club Brugge, Ndidi scored a long-range goal that was selected as the finest goal of the season in the Belgian league.
On December 3, 2016, Genk and Leicester City agreed on a £17 million trade. On January 5, 2017, the agreement was confirmed.
Ndidi made his club debut on January 7, 2017, in a 2-1 FA Cup third-round victory over Everton. He began his first Premier League match on January 14, 2017, a 3-0 loss at home against Chelsea. On February 8, 2017, Ndidi made his Leicester debut against Derby County in the English FA Cup game. He used a long-range shot to score the team’s opening goal.
Ndidi received his first career dismissal on December 16, 2017, during Leicester’s 3-0 home loss to Crystal Palace.
On September 13, 2020, Ndidi made his Premier League debut for Leicester City, starting at center defense and keeping the score 3-0 against West Bromwich Albion. Ndidi had an adductor injury on September 20, 2020, and was out for 6–12 weeks. He made his comeback in Leicester’s Europa League loss to Zorya Luhansk on December 3.
On January 19, 2021, Ndidi scored his first goal of the season during Leicester City’s league game against Chelsea. Following a 2-0 victory, Leicester moved to the top of the league standings.
International Career
Ndidi was a member of the Nigerian youth squad while he was a student at Nathaniel Boys of Lagos. After an MRI age test proved he was just slightly above the cutoff, he and two other players were excluded from the African U-17 Championship with Nigeria as a precaution.
Despite this, he joined his countrymen in the U-20 team the next year and contributed to building the midfield’s basis. He was called up to the senior Nigerian national football team on October 8, 2015. In the exhibition game against the Democratic Republic of the Congo, he made his debut. A few days later, in the 3-0 triumph against Cameroon, he made his comeback, replacing John Obi Mikel in the 63rd minute. He was chosen by Nigeria for their 35-man provisional Olympic team in 2016.
In May 2018, Ndidi was a part of Nigeria’s provisional 30-man World Cup roster. He played in the opening match of the 2019 African Cup of Nations for Nigeria against Burundi. On December 25, 2021, Ndidi was selected by Nigeria’s temporary coach Austin Eguavoen for the 28-person 2021 Africa Cup of Nations team. Following the Africa Cup of Nations, Cameroon 2021 Group Stage, Ndidi was chosen by Confederation Africaine de Football (CAF) on January 22, 2022, as a substitute with Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane in the group stage’s best team.
Personal Life
Ndidi wed Dinma Fortune in May 2019. Ndidi enrolled at De Montfort University in 2019 to pursue a degree in business and management.
Honors
Leicester City
- FA Cup: 2020–21
- FA Community Shield: 2021
Net Worth
Wilfred Ndidi is one of the richest and most expensive footballers in Nigeria. He makes an annual salary of €4,500,000 and a weekly salary of €91,463. Ndidi has a market value of 36 million Euros. According to different sources online, Ndidi has an estimated net worth of $36 million.
