Rabiu Afolabi’s biography, fact, career, awards, net worth and life story

Intro Nigerian footballer
Is Athlete
Football player
Association football player
From Nigeria
Type Sports
Gender male
Birth

18 April 1980, Osogbo

Age 40 years
Star sign Aries

Rabiu Afolabi (born 18 April 1980 in Osogbo, Osun State), is a retired Nigerian footballer, who played as a defender.

Career

Born in Osogbo, Nigeria, Afolabi started his football career at NEPA Lagos.

Standard Liège and Napoli loan

Afolabi soon left his home country by moving to Belgium to Standard Liège after impressing at the 1997 edition of the UEFA-CAF Meridian Cup. Once he made a move to Belgium, Afolabi immediately fell in love with the style of play. In the 1997–1998 season, he played in three matches in the Eerste Klasse, of which two in the first team. Standard, however, played a poor season and finished 9th place in the table. In the next season he played in 26 league games, scored a goal and with Liège finishing in sixth place in the league. Standard has also played in the final of Cup of Belgium, losing 1–3 to Lierse S.K. In the 1999/2000 season Standard finished fifth place; Afolabi made 24 appearances scoring 1 goal.

Having become a regular player at Standard Liège, Afolabi signed for Italian Serie A side Napoli on loan ahead of the 2000–2001 season. At Napoli, he failed to break into the first team, in part due to injuries. When fit, he played in the club’s reserves.

After half a season in Italy, he returned to Liege. After the 2001–2002 season he was named the best defender in Belgium, Standard finished fifth. The next season was not as successful: Afolabi played only 14 league matches, Standard completed the season in the 7th position.

Austria Wien

In 2003, Afolabi decided to move to an Austrian club Austria Wien on a free transfer. He made his debut for the club in the Austrian Supercup, which Wien won 2–1 against FC Kärnten. Five days, he made his league debut for the club, again versus FC Kärnten, in a 2–1 loss. In his first season, Afolabi played a total of 33 matches.

In summer 2004 interest for was reported from Marseille, as well as other clubs. He played in 27 league games in the 2004–05 season, all from the first until the last minute, and scored one goal in a 3–0 win away match against FC Wacker Tirol. Austria finished third place, just behind rival Rapid Wien and Grazer.

The following season, Afolabi played in the 2004–05 UEFA Cup tournament with Austria Wien, until the club was elimination by Italian side Parma. Like last season, the club also won the Austrian Supercup.

Sochaux

After the 2004–05 season, some Austria Wien players were linked a move away from clubs. Among them was also Afolabi, who joined Sochaux for a €2 million transfer fee. In his Ligue 1 debut on 13 August 2005 he came on as a substitute for youngster Jérémy Ménez. Sochaux won the away match against Nice 2–1 but Afolabi was sent off in the 87th minute of the match. Towards the end of the season, Afolabi scored his first goal, on 6 May 2006, in a draw at home to Troyes. The club finished in 15th place.

Afolabi spent four seasons at Sochaux. In his time there, he earned one title, the 2006–07 Coupe de France. He later stated that winning the cup was the greatest moment of his career.

Red Bull Salzburg

After leaving Sochaux at the end of 2008–2009 season as a free agent, Afolabi returned to Austria, signing a two-year contract with Red Bull Salzburg having been previously linked with newly promoted Premier League side Burnley. He became a regular starter in central defence. In February 2010, he scored the winning goal away to title rivals SK Rapid Wien which helped keep the Red Bulls on course for the championship. Eventually, Red Bull Salzburg would win the title.

On 7 November 2010, he made his 100th Austrian Bundesliga match having made 60 appearance for FK Austria Wien and 40 for Red Bull Salzburg). In December, it was reported that Salzburg were looking to transfer Afolabi in the winter transfer window. After his second season in Salzburg, his contract was not renewed.

Monaco

Following his release from Salzburg, Afolabi was linked with German side Eintracht Frankfurt but on 31 August 2011, he returned to France joining recently relegated Monaco on a free transfer, agreeing to a two-year contract with the club. On 19 September 2011, he scored his debut goal in a 1–0 victory over against Arles-Avignon. Over time, he featured less and less at Monaco and after one year at the club, it was announced he had left the club by mutual consent with one year of his contract remaining.

SønderjyskE and retirement

After eight months without a club, Afolabi went on trial at Danish Superliga club SønderjyskE, with a view of earning a contract. On 13 March 2013, he eventually signed with the club for the rest of the 2012–13 season.

On his debut for SønderjyskE, a match against Silkeborg IF on 28 March 2013, Afolabi helped his team to a 5–0 victory over its bottom-table rivals. He was named as one of the best players on the field. Having played three matches he fractured a rib and was substituted during a match against Midtjylland. Afterwards, it was announced he would be out for between three and four weeks. Following his return, he went on to make five appearances in total helping the club survive relegation and finishing in eighth place. At the end of the season, the club remained keen on keeping him by offering him a new contract. However, Afolabi chose to leave the club after three months there.

After leaving Denmark, he announced his retirement and the intent to pursue a career in football management and scouting, having earned a certificate.

Style of play

Afolabi is a strong and lanky central defender, who is good aerially and has a thunderous shot. He is also very versatile and can play as a fullback or defensive midfielder as well. Offensively, he is dangerous on set pieces.

International career

Afolabi played a vital role for Nigeria in the 1999 African Youth Championship, coming from defence to score the two goals against Cameroon in the semi-final. Nigeria eventually finished second in the tournament after losing 0–1 to the hosts, Ghana, in the final.

He then captained the Nigerian under-20 team in the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship in Nigeria.

On 17 June 2000, Afolabi made his full international debut for Nigeria in a 2002 World Cup qualifier against Sierra Leone. He was part of the Nigeria squads at the 2002 and 2010 World Cups.

Trivia

His name, Afolabi, means “Born into wealth“. His nickname in Nigeria is Robocop because of his stiff movements.

In 2011, Afolabi was involved in a charity called “The Rabiu Afolabi Educational Foundation” by setting up a foundation, which he started out with a donation of 50,000 customised books worth about $20,000 to selected public primary and secondary schools in his home state of Oshun State.

You May Also Like

Damon Dash’s net worth, biography, fact, career, awards and life story

Damon Dash net worth: Damon Dash is an American record producer, entrepreneur and music executive who has a net worth of $10 thousand. Unlike his one-time partner Jay-Z, who today is a billionaire, Damon has experienced a number of reported financial issues in recent years. In late 2019, Damon told a New York judge that he was too broke to pay child support, with most of his income being garnished by a variety of creditors. We’ll detail his history of financial situations throughout this article. Damon Dash is probably most famous for co-founding the music label Roc-A-Fella Records. Dash co-founded Roc-A-Fella with rapper Jay Z. He also co-founded two clothing lines, including Rocawear with Jay-Z. Rocawear eventually became a highly lucrative brand that was sold for hundreds of millions of dollars. When business was booming, Damon used his clout to branch into several other industries and businesses. Damon dipped into film production, marketing, merchandise and talent management. His film company produced a number of noteworthy films, including “The Woodsman”, which starred Kevin Bacon and “Paid in Full” which starred Mekhi Phifer. Early Life: Born May 3, 1971 in Harlem, New York, Damon Dash attended private schools in New York and recognized his musical calling at an early age. As a teenager, he would sweep floors at a local barbershop and work as a newspaper salesman in order to afford sneakers and t-shirts. In his own words, Damon “learned to hustle” from his mother, who unfortunately died of an asthma attack when he was just 15. Career: Dash co-founded Roc-A-Fella with rapper Jay Z. Dash worked as Jay-Z’s business partner at Roc-A-Fella Records, as well as serving as his former manager. In 1999, Dash organized a tour for Jay-Z that raked in $19 million dollars. As Roc-A-Fella records skyrocketed in popularity, Damon saw his net worth rise to an all-time peak of $50 million. Unfortunately, the good times did not last forever. Jay Z and Damon’s relationship soured after Roc-A-Fella Records was bought by Def Jam Recordings in 2004. Jay Z subsequently agreed to take the job of president of Def Jam. In late 2005, Jay-Z bought Dash out of his stake in Rocawear. Their relationship was officially rendered over because of these events. Other Ventures: His success as a record producer led him to branch out into other fields where he also enjoyed much success. He founded two clothing lines, Rocawear with Jay-Z, a highly lucrative brand that was eventually sold for hundreds of millions of dollars. When business was booming, Damon used his clout to branch into several other industries and businesses. Damon eventually branched out into film production, marketing, merchandise and talent management. His film company produced a number of noteworthy films, including “The Woodsman”, which starred Kevin Bacon and “Paid in Full” which starred Mekhi Phifer. Dash has appeared in both films, as well, although he served primarily as producer. Damon Dash also founded DD172, a media collective which includes a magazine, American Nu, a web design firm called VNGRD79, an art gallery, and a record label division, BlueRoc Records. Relationships: He was previously in a relationship with R&B singer Aaliyah from 2000 until her death in August 2001 by plane crash. The couple was not formally engaged but Dash has stated in interviews that the couple had plans to marry. Damon was married to Rachel Roy from 2005 to 2009. He met Rachel Roy when she was working as an intern at Rocawear. They had two daughters together, Ava Dash (born in 1999) and Tallulah Dash (born in 2008). Their daughters led to a bitter custody battle when the couple divorced in 2009. Roy accused Dash of domestic abuse and was awarded sole custody as well as a three-year restraining order and significant financial support. Dash also has a son, Dame “Boogie” Dash, born in 1991. He shares his son with former girlfriend Linda Williams. Boogie stars in Growing Up Hip Hop, a reality show on WE Tv. Dash is currently engaged to his pregnant fiance, film producer Raquel Horn, as of April 2020. Financial Problems: During his divorce proceedings from Roy, Dash revealed to a judge that he owed $2 million in back taxes and was in the midst of foreclosure on two New York City apartments. He was also being sued by several NYC law firms and various other creditors for lack of payment. His Chevy Tahoe had been repossessed after he could not keep up with the $700 monthly payments. Dash was forced to vacate his $9 million Tribeca New York home which was later sold in foreclosure for $5.5 million. Meanwhile, Jay-Z would go on to sell Rocawear to Iconix Brand Group for $219 million. In 2014, Dash was ordered to pay Linda Williams, the mother of his son Boogie, $50,000 for causing her to be prosecuted on harassment charges in 2009. In August 2015, it was revealed that Damon Dash owes $4.14 million in back taxes to the state of New York. In September 2019 Damon petitioned a court to end his child support payments. It turns out that during the original divorce proceedings, Damon agreed to pay $6000 per month in child support that would extend beyond when the daughters turned 18. In his court filing, Damon claimed that in 2018 he earned a total of $56,000 while Rachel supposedly earned more than $500,000. In November 2019, Dash was arrested for failing to pay $400,000 in child support. Dash reportedly paid more than $1 million to be released. Later that month, Damon filed legal docs claiming he is broke again and could not afford to pay a $2,400 personal debt. This time he claimed his only source of income is his own business which currently makes zero profits. He further revealed that he received $2 million from producer Lee Daniels as part of a lawsuit settlement but the money was garnished by creditors. In March 2019, Dash was ordered to pay Rachel Roy $341,991 and $25,000 for attorney fees.
Read More