Ahmed Musa portrait — Wikimedia Commons (see CREDITS)
Super Eagles legend location_on Kano Pillars

AHMED
MUSA

Winger / Forward #7 Nigerian flag Nigeria (Super Eagles)
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Age

33 yrs

Height

1.74m

Value

Free

Caps / Goals

111 / 16

Profile

Who is Ahmed

Ahmed Musa is Nigeria's most-capped men's footballer — 111 appearances for the Super Eagles before announcing his international retirement on 17 December 2025. He won AFCON 2013, scored braces at the 2014 (vs Argentina) and 2018 (vs Iceland) World Cups, and won two Russian Premier League titles at CSKA Moscow. At 33 he is back at Kano Pillars, the NPFL side that discovered him.

Tactical DNA

Musa's game has always been built on one weapon: raw pace down the left flank as an inverted right-footer, cutting inside to shoot or stretching defences on the overlap. In his peak years at CSKA Moscow and at the 2014 World Cup, his first five metres of acceleration was genuinely elite — the metric that separated him from the rest of that Super Eagles generation.

The 2026 version is a different player. At Kano Pillars he operates as a roaming No. 10 behind the striker, conserving the sprints for the last 25 minutes when tired NPFL defenders cannot track his diagonals anymore. The Pillars coaching staff use him on the flank when opponents play a narrow 4-4-2 — where there's space in behind the full-back — and centrally against three-at-the-back systems.

Career Journey

history
GBS Academy / Kano Pillars (Nigeria)
24 apps 18 goals

Scored a goal every other game from the left flank as an NPFL teenager. 18 goals earned him the breakthrough move to Europe via a Dutch agent network.

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VVV-Venlo (Netherlands)
60 apps 12 goals 10 assists ~€500k

Dutch Eredivisie education. Broke into the first team as a teenager and used the league as the bridge from NPFL to top-five-league football.

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CSKA Moscow (Russia)
157 apps 45 goals 23 assists €6m

First African signing in CSKA's history. Won two Russian Premier League titles (2012–13, 2013–14) and a Russian Cup. Regular Champions League appearances. Peak European years.

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Leicester City (England)
33 apps 2 goals £16.6m

Signed for a then-Nigerian-record fee the summer after Leicester's shock Premier League title. Featured in the Foxes' first Champions League run to the quarter-finals, but struggled for consistent Premier League minutes.

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CSKA Moscow (loan, Russia)
14 apps 4 goals 2 assists

Returned to Moscow on loan for the second half of 2017–18 to regain form ahead of the 2018 World Cup — where he scored Nigeria's brace vs Iceland.

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Al-Nassr (Saudi Arabia)
54 apps 22 goals 11 assists €16m

Won the Saudi Professional League in 2018–19 — his first senior league title outside Russia. Led the line as the club's designated overseas star before the Saudi pro-era that came later.

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Fatih Karagümrük (Turkey)
29 apps 4 goals

Istanbul chapter. Featured regularly in the Süper Lig and renewed European exposure after a quieter 2020.

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Sivasspor (Turkey)
61 apps 9 goals 7 assists

Two-year run with the Anatolian side. Captained the side in Europa Conference League fixtures and mentored a much younger dressing room — the template for his current Kano Pillars role.

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Kano Pillars (Nigeria)
32 apps 10 goals 11 assists Free

Homecoming to the club where he was discovered. Joined in a player-mentor role; helping Pillars' NPFL title push while bringing the Super Eagles halo back to Nigerian club football.

Current Season Stats

Live Data
Apps
18
NPFL 2025–26
Goals
5
Assists
6
xG
4.2
Minutes
1,180
Goals / 90
0.38

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AFCON Winner

Nigeria — 2013 (South Africa)

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AFCON Runner-up

2023 (Côte d'Ivoire 2–1 Nigeria)

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Russian Premier League Champion

CSKA Moscow — 2012–13, 2013–14

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Russian Cup Winner

CSKA Moscow — 2012–13

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Saudi Professional League Champion

Al-Nassr — 2018–19

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Nigeria's all-time top scorer at World Cups

4 goals across 2014 (vs Argentina, brace) and 2018 (vs Iceland, brace)

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Super Eagles captain

2018–2024

flagWith Nigeria (Super Eagles)

111
Caps
16
Goals
2010
Debut
AFCON 2013 (winner) World Cup 2014 World Cup 2018 AFCON 2019 AFCON 2021 AFCON 2023 (final)
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Beyond the Pitch

Born 14 October 1992 in Jos, Plateau State — the central Nigerian city he still returns to in the off-season to run a youth football camp. His father Mamman Musa died when Ahmed was a boy, and he has often pointed to his mother and older siblings as the family unit that funded his first football boots and his move to Kano Pillars at 17.

Devout Muslim; observed Ramadan through full training cycles at CSKA Moscow and Leicester, a topic he has spoken about publicly to encourage young players on how to manage fasting alongside elite performance. Quiet off-pitch lifestyle; rarely in tabloid headlines beyond football.

Founder of the Ahmed Musa Sports Foundation, which runs grassroots tournaments in Plateau and Kano states and has funded thousands of pairs of football boots for school-age children across Nigeria since 2014. Awarded the Member of the Order of the Niger (MON) by the Nigerian government after AFCON 2013.

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Expert Analysis

Amara Okafor

Amara Okafor

Senior Writer

22 posts on Ahmed.

 Chinedu Okoye

Chinedu Okoye

Senior Writer

9 posts on Ahmed.

Ahmed Q&A

How old is Ahmed Musa? expand_more
Ahmed Musa was born on 14 October 1992 in Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria, which makes him 33 years old as of April 2026.
Which club does Ahmed Musa play for? expand_more
Ahmed Musa plays for Kano Pillars in the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL), having returned to the club where he was originally discovered. He joined in 2024 in a player-mentor role after two seasons at Sivasspor in Turkey.
How many World Cup goals has Ahmed Musa scored? expand_more
Musa has 4 goals at World Cup finals — a Nigeria record. He scored a brace against Argentina in 2014 (becoming the first Nigerian to score two goals in a single World Cup match) and another brace vs Iceland in 2018. Nigeria did not qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Is Ahmed Musa the Nigeria captain? expand_more
Musa was Super Eagles captain from 2018 to 2024, leading Nigeria to the 2023 AFCON final. He stepped down from the armband after that tournament; William Troost-Ekong has since taken over as senior captain under Éric Chelle.
How many caps does Ahmed Musa have for Nigeria? expand_more
111 senior caps per Wikipedia — the Nigeria men's record, ahead of Joseph Yobo (101) and Vincent Enyeama (101). He scored 16 international goals across four AFCONs and two World Cups.
What is Ahmed Musa's net worth? expand_more
Public estimates of Ahmed Musa's net worth in 2026 sit around US $25–40 million, reflecting his £16.6m Leicester transfer, four seasons at CSKA Moscow, two Saudi Pro League seasons at Al-Nassr, and an extended Süper Lig stint. Specific figures circulating online are estimates, not disclosures.
Why did Ahmed Musa return to Kano Pillars? expand_more
Musa has described the 2024 return as a homecoming and a contribution to Nigerian club football. Officially a player-mentor deal, it lets Pillars rebuild around a Super Eagles legend while giving Musa a platform to finish his career in the league that launched him.
How tall is Ahmed Musa? expand_more
Musa is 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in). Not a tall winger — his game was built on acceleration, two-footedness and decision-making in tight spaces rather than aerial or physical presence.
Did Ahmed Musa win the AFCON? expand_more
Yes. Musa was part of the Nigeria squad that won AFCON 2013 in South Africa. He was also a runner-up at AFCON 2023, losing the final 2–1 to Côte d'Ivoire as captain. Two AFCON finals, eleven years apart — the span of his Super Eagles career.
Has Ahmed Musa retired from international football? expand_more
Yes. On 17 December 2025 Musa announced his retirement from international football after 117 Super Eagles caps — a Nigerian record. His retirement statement, posted on his Instagram, read: 'After a lot of thought, I have decided to retire from international football, bringing to an end almost 15 years with the Super Eagles.' He continues to play for Kano Pillars in the NPFL.
Is Ahmed Musa still playing club football? expand_more
Yes. Musa plays for Kano Pillars in the Nigeria Premier Football League, a role he has held since 2024. He also serves as the club's general manager, a dual player-administrator position. His NPFL retirement has not been publicly scheduled; he has said he plans to finish his career at Pillars.
Who is Ahmed Musa's wife? expand_more
Musa has been publicly linked to multiple marriages over his career. His first marriage, to Juliet Ejue from Cross River State, ended in divorce. He has since remarried more than once, most recently to Asmau Moriki in a Kano ceremony. Polygamy is legally permitted for Muslim men in Nigeria under the sharia personal-law framework that applies in Kano State. Musa himself keeps his family life largely private and rarely discusses it publicly.
Who is richer, Ahmed Musa or Victor Osimhen? expand_more
Public estimates put Ahmed Musa's net worth around US $25–40 million from CSKA Moscow, Leicester, Al-Nassr, and Süper Lig seasons. Victor Osimhen's estimate is US $20–30 million. Musa's longer European and Saudi Pro League career gives him the current edge, though Osimhen's earning trajectory is steeper.

Related

Club Kano Pillars arrow_forward Player Victor Osimhen arrow_forward Player Ademola Lookman arrow_forward Coach Éric Chelle arrow_forward League Nigeria Premier Football League arrow_forward

Last updated 2026-04-21 · written by Amara Okafor.