Ahmed Musa was born to Alhaji Musa and Sarah Moses on the 14th of October, 1992, in the city of Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria. His father was a Muslim originally from the northern Nigerian state of Borno while his mother, who was his father’s second wife, is a Christian from Edo State.
Following the untimely death of Musa’s father when he was growing up, he along with his four older sisters were raised by just their mother. His mother supported his aspirations to become a professional footballer after Musa’s talent was discovered at a very early age.
He first joined GBS Football Academy where his performances prompted him to be featured in a local publication’s Undiscovered Talent column. the following year, a 16-year-old Musa was loaned out to the now-defunct Nigerian Football league side JUTH FC. he played a total of 18 games with the club, scoring four goals.
For the 2009-10 season, Musa was again loaned out to Kano Pillars where he took the league by storm, scoring 18 goals in 25 appearances and firing the team to a second-place finish. That performance earned him a spot in Nigeria’s 2010 WAFU Nations Cup squad where his goals helped win the tournament for Nigeria. He was subsequently called up to the senior team but was ruled out from the 2010 FIFA World Cup due to injury.
After that campaign, Musa took his talents abroad to join Dutch Eredivisie football club VVV-Venlo. He was however made to wait a few months to feature for the club because he had not turned 18. After his 18th birthday in October 2010, Musa officially joined his new team, making his debut in a match against FC Groningen on October 30 where he started and won his side a penalty kick.
Musa was lauded by both local and international pundits during that campaign, prompting speculation that he might make a big money move to either England or Germany. He in the meantime helped Nigeria win the 2011 African Youth Championship, where he was crowned most valuable player, and then the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup where he was shortlisted for the tournaments Golden Ball.
In January 2012, Ahmed Musa swapped the Netherlands for Russia, joining CSKA Moscow for an undisclosed fee, winning the Russian Premier League and Cup at his first attempt.
The following year, Musa was part of the Nigerian team that won the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, before again being part of the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup team that was knocked out in the group stage. At the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Musa notably scored twice in a group match against Argentina, making him the first Nigerian to achieve such a feat.
Ahmed Musa went on to play for CSKA Moscow until the summer of 2016 when he moved to Leicester City for a club record fee of £16.6 million. His time at Leicester was, however, marred with poor form and personal issues that affected his game.
In January 2018, Musa was loaned back to CSKA Moscow for 4 months to get much-needed game time ahead of his country’s participation in the World Cup.
Tags
Sports