Samuel Chimerenka Chukwueze (; born 22 May 1999) is a Nigerian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who plays as a winger for

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...

club

AC Milan Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982–83 seaso ...

and the Nigeria national team.

Early life and education

Chukwueze was born in Amaokwe Ugba Ibeku, Abia State. He is of

Igbo Igbo may refer to: * Igbo people, an ethnic group of Nigeria * Igbo language, their language * anything related to Igboland, a cultural region in Nigeria See also * Ibo (disambiguation) * Igbo mythology * Igbo music * Igbo art * * Igbo-Ukwu, a ...

descent and was brought up in a Christian family with a younger brother and a younger sister. He attended

Government College Umuahia Government College Umuahia, or GCU, is an independent secondary school for boys located on Umuahia- Ikot Ekpene road in Umuahia, Nigeria. Twenty years after the establishment of Kings College, the first government-owned high school, by the Bri ...

and Evangel Secondary School. He started playing football at the age of 8 and he admired Jay-Jay Okocha and

Arjen Robben Arjen Robben (; born 23 January 1984) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a winger. He was known for his dribbling skills, speed, ball control and long-range shots. Robben is regarded as one of the best players of his gener ...

as his football idols growing up.

Club career

Villareal

Chukwueze joined

Villarreal CF Villarreal Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. ( ca-valencia, Vila-real Club de Futbol, S.A.D.), usually abbreviated to Villarreal CF or simply Villarreal, is a professional football club based in Villarreal, in the Castellón province of eastern Spain, ...

's prolific youth setup in 2017, from local side Diamond Football Academy. After being initially assigned to the club's ''Juvenil A'' squad, he made his senior debut with the reserves on 15 April 2018, coming on as a second-half substitute for Sergio Lozano in a 1–1 Segunda División B away draw against

CE Sabadell FC Centre d'Esports Sabadell Futbol Club, S.A.D. () is a Spanish football team based in Sabadell, a city in the province of Barcelona in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Founded in 1903, it plays in Segunda División RFEF – Group 2, holdin ...

. Chukwueze scored his first senior goal on 20 May 2018, netting his team's second in a 3–2 away defeat of

Bilbao Athletic Athletic Club "B", commonly known as Bilbao Athletic, is the reserve team of Athletic Club, a football club based in Bilbao, in the autonomous community of Basque Country in Spain. The team are playing in the Primera Federación – Group 2. Fo ...

. He contributed with two goals in 11 appearances during his first season, as his side missed out promotion in the play-offs. Chukwueze made his first-team debut on 20 September 2018, replacing

Nicola Sansone Nicola Domenico Sansone (; born 10 September 1991) is an Italian footballer who plays as a forward for Serie A club Bologna. Born in Germany, he has represented the Italian national team. Club career Sansone was born in Munich in Germany and ...

in a 2–2 home draw against Rangers, for the

2018–19 UEFA Europa League The 2018–19 UEFA Europa League was the 48th season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 10th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League. The final was played at the Olympic Sta ...

. He also made his league debut on 5 November 2018, playing a 90-minute full play in a 1–1 home draw against Levante, for the

2018–19 La Liga The 2018–19 La Liga season, also known as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, was the 88th since its establishment. The season began on 17 August 2018 and finished on 19 May 2019. Fixtures for the 2018–19 season were announced on 24 Ju ...

. In April 2019, he won the Nigeria Football Federation's 2018 Young Player of the Year award. On 12 April 2022, in the second leg of the

2021–22 UEFA Champions League The 2021–22 UEFA Champions League was the 67th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 30th season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. Real Madri ...

quarter-final away to Bayern Munich, Chukwueze scored the equaliser in the 88th minute, helping Villarreal progress to the semi-finals of the tournament. On 8 April 2023, Chukwueze scored a brace and recorded an assist against Real Madrid in a 3–2 away victory.

AC Milan

On 27 July 2023,

club

announced the signing of Chukwueze, on a contract until 30 June 2028.

International career

After playing for Nigeria at under-17 level, he received his first call-up to the senior team in October 2018. He made his debut for the Nigerian senior team on 20 November 2018 as a starter in a 0–0 friendly draw against

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The sou ...

. In May 2019, Chukwueze was invited to represent Nigeria's senior team at the Africa Cup of Nations and the Under-20 team at the Under-20 World Cup. However, Villarreal said he could only play in one of the tournaments. He ultimately decided to take part with Nigerian's senior squad for Africa Cup of Nations hosted in Egypt and scored his first senior goal in Nigeria's 2–1 win over

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

in the quarter finals.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Nigeria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Chukwueze goal.''

Honours

Villarreal *

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...

: 2020–21 Nigeria U17 *

FIFA U-17 World Cup The FIFA U-17 World Cup, founded as the FIFA U-16 World Championship, later changed to U-17 in 1991 and to its current name in 2007, is the world championship of association football for male players under the age of 17 organized by ''Fédération ...

: 2015 Individual *

Bronze Boot: 2015 *

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...

African MVP: 2022–23

References

External links

Profile
at the Villarreal CF website * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chukwueze, Samu 1999 births Living people People from Abia State Nigerian men's footballers Men's association football wingers UEFA Europa League winning players 2019 Africa Cup of Nations players 2021 Africa Cup of Nations players La Liga players Segunda División B players Villarreal CF B players Villarreal CF players AC Milan players Nigeria men's youth international footballers Nigeria men's international footballers Nigerian expatriate men's footballers Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Government College Umuahia alumni