The Leicester City midfielder is one of Nigeria’s highest-earning footballers in the world, but the celebrated Europe-based football agent believes he is worth much more
FA Licensed football agent, Andrew Uyi Ogbomoide, believes Wilfred Ndidi and many other African football stars are underrated, under-appreciated and underpaid compared to their counterparts from European and South American nations because of poor representation from their agents.
Ndidi, one of the Premier League’s most outstanding defensive midfielders, takes home a weekly pay of 75,000 pounds, a wage bettered by only two other Nigerian stars – Napoli’s Victor Osimhen and Manchester United’s Odion Ighalo.
In a chat with the Nation Online, Drew Uyi, who has worked with the likes of Super Eagles skipper Ahmed Musa and Ighalo, emphasised on the need for African players to educate themselves on personal branding.
And once a personal brand value is appropriately positioned, he believes, it will undoubtedly enhance such a player’s market value, which will then make him earn as much as he’s supposed to receive.
“If you put two players together and you see what they earn, I think African players are really underrated,” Drew Uyi said.
“Because most times, their agents are not really working for the players, they are working for the clubs more or less.
“And you will see someone like Wilfred Ndidi, a player of his class and quality should be worth three times what he is earning now.
“But what can I say? We hope things will improve in the future. African players need to know where they stand, they need to get the right people around them and don’t limit themselves.”
Ighalo, on loan at United from Shanghai Shenhua, is Nigeria’s highest-earning star in Europe with the former Watford striker picking up £130,000 weekly.