The summer transfer story of Super Eagles attacker, Ademola Lookman, has exposed the uncomfortable reality Nigerian players face in Europe.
Despite being crowned 2024 Africa Player of the Year and having earlier delivered a Europa League-winning season with Atalanta, Lookman is valued by Inter Milan at just €40 million.
That’s the same Inter Milan offering what many, including myself, believe is a below-par wage package for a player who has scored 52 goals and provided 25 assists in 118 games for La Dea.
“40 million for Africa’s best player? Over my dead body!”
40 MILLION FOR AFRICA BEST PLAYER
OVER MY DEAD BODY.
— AKPORSTLE INDUSTRY MACHINE ⚙️ (@Odumodublvck_) July 16, 2025
Not only the Declan Rice crooner, Nigerian journalist, Buchi Laba, weighed in as well, pointing out how Nigerian players are severely underpaid because they often don’t realise their true worth.
“They make a specific amount of money and they become so comfortable, like the clubs are doing them a big favour. Look at the ridiculous wage Inter Milan are offering Ademola Lookman. A whole Africa best player of the year!”
When you think about it, this same dynamic is likely part of why Chelsea’s Tosin Adarabioyo has chosen to stick with England rather than commit to Nigeria.
Osimhen went from being priced at €120 million to €75 million, with clubs suddenly questioning his wage demands—even after scoring 37 goals in 41 appearances in the 2024-25 season for Turkish giants, Galatasaray.
Had Bukayo Saka played for Nigeria instead of England, it’s fair to ask if he’d be rated the same way in European boardrooms today.
It’s not just about patriotism—it’s about a system that still doesn’t value African value the way it should.
And sadly, players like Adarabioyo may be relaxing on playing for the Super Eagles of Nigeria not for lack of love, but because they know exactly what it costs in the unforgiving football market.
