Football is a popular sport in Nigeria. The Nigerian national team competes in different
international tournaments such as the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) and the World Cup.
Betway covers top soccer leagues in the West African nation. Many soccer fans have a murky
understanding of the history of football in Nigeria. Here is a list of ten top Nigerian
footballers in history.

1. Anua Lawal Rigogo
   Anua was a talented goalkeeper. He had unique acrobatic displays that impressed Kwame
   Nkrumah, Ghana’s president thus naming him the Flying Cat. The Nigerian keeper conceded
   four goals in 42 appearances. He made football popular in Nigeria.
2. Austin Jay-Jay Okocha
   Austin is one of the greatest footballers in African history. He had amazing flicks and ball
   tricks that enabled him to penetrate tight defense lines. Okocha is among the top 125 living
   footballers globally. In 2003, Austin won the BBC African Footballer of the Year award and
   retained it in 2004. He was part of the squads that won the 1996 Atlanta Olympic gold medal
   and the 1994 African Cup of Nations trophy. Gamblers who take part in Nigerian soccer
   betting can get the latest sports news from different bookmakers.
3. Teslim Balogun
   Teslim had a successful sports career in the mid-20th century. His fame lasted for more than
   50 years. The Nigerian striker is one of the legends in the nation’s sports history. He scored
   many goals for the national team.
4. Taribo West
   Taribo often plated his hair green-white. He caught the attention of many Nigerian fans in
   major tournaments. Taribo played for Auxerre, Derby County, Plymouth, and Inter-Milan. He
   was part of the team that won the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
5. Stephen Keshi
   Keshi was a talented central defender for Nigeria. He was the first Nigerian footballer to play
   in foreign leagues. Stephen captained the first Nigerian football team that featured in World
   Cup in 1994.
6. Nwankwo Kanu
   Kanu was fondly known as Papilo. Pele, the Brazilian legend praised him for his ball
   intelligence. He won the FA Cup, Premier League, UEFA Cup, Olympic gold medal and the
   UEFA Champions League with different clubs.
7. Victor Ikpeba

Victor played for As Monaco FC during his heydays. He made 102 appearances and scored
84 goals for the French Ligue 1 side. Also, the Nigerian striker won the 1997 CAF Africa
Footballer of the Year award.

1. Rasheed Yekini
   Rasheed is the top goal scorer in football history in Nigeria. Most defenders dreaded blocking
   him when he approached the box. He helped the Nigerian team lift the 1994 African Cup of
   Nations. Rasheed made 58 appearances and scored 37 goals for Nigeria.
2. Segun Odegbami
   Odegbami was a skilled footballer with amazing dribbling skills. He helped Nigeria win its
   first African Cup of Nations trophy in 1980. Segun often played in the right wing of the pitch.
   He made 46 appearances and scored 23 goals for his country.
3. Emmanuel Amunike
   Amunike scored many goals for local clubs and the Nigerian football team. For example, he
   scored the winning goal in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics for Nigeria. He also won the 1994
   AFCON trophy.
   Nigeria is one of the African nations with top footballers. It has legendary players such as
   Segun Odegbami, Rasheed Yekini, Victor Ikpeba, Nwankwo Kanu and Emmanuel Amunike.
   Some Nigerian players play in top soccer leagues including the English Premier League, La
   Liga and the French League 1. Punters can wager on them on Betway.

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Lionel Messi has revealed that although he would love to win a trophy with Argentina, he would not change anything about his career so far.

Messi has reached four tournament finals with La Albiceleste but has failed to win a single one.

However, the 32-year-old claims that despite this heartache, given the opportunity he would not do anything differently.

As reported by TyC Sports (​via Marca) Messi said: “I would’ve loved to be a world champion.

“But I don’t think I would change anything else in my career to be one. This is what I was given, what God gave me. It is what it is.

“I couldn’t dream of everything that I experienced after. It was far bigger than anything I could’ve imagined.”

​Messi experienced his first defeat in the 2007 Copa America, where Argentina finished runners-up after losing 3-0 to Brazil in the final.

Defeats in the 2014 World Cup and the 2015 and 2016 Copa America finals followed, with significant criticism levelled at La Pulga on all three occasions.

In spite of this bad press, Messi still managed to be included in the Team of the Tournament in each of these ultimately unsuccessful campaigns, even winning the Golden Ball during the 2014 World Cup.

The forward also continues to dazzle for his club side. Messi scored 51 goals last season for ​Barcelona, putting him in strong contention to win this year’s ​Balon d’Or.

If he manages to see off the challenge of Virgil van Dijk for the trophy, he will become the first player to win the award on six occasions.

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Barcelona captain, Lionel Messi, has privately urged Neymar to reject Real Madrid and push for a return to the Camp Nou, according to reports in Spain.

Neymar has made it clear that he wants to leave Paris Saint-Germain, before the end of the transfer window.

And the Ligue 1 champions are now open to allowing the Brazilian forward leave.

Barcelona’s hierarchy are set to meet with PSG chiefs on Tuesday to discuss Neymar’s transfer and are willing to offer Philippe Coutinho as part of the deal.

Real Madrid president, Florentino Perez, is also a huge fan of Neymar and has tried unsuccessfully to sign the 27-year-old on many occasions in the past.

Messi has now intervened by calling Neymar, to advise him against a move to Madrid.

Neymar spent four seasons alongside Messi at Barcelona and the pair won two La Liga titles, the Champions League and the Club World Cup.

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