'My favourite team was Chelsea' - Ferencvaros' Yusuf reveals he supported Blues and idolised ex-Arsenal star
'My favourite team was Chelsea' - Ferencvaros' Yusuf reveals he supported Blues and idolised ex-Arsenal star
Speaking ahead of Ferencváros' Europa League clash with Celtic, Bamidele Yusuf has revealed that Chelsea were his favourite Premier League team growing up, despite idolising former Arsenal striker of Nigerian descent Emmanuel Adebayor.
A product of FC Obazz, Yusuf represented clubs in Slovakia, Portugal and Serbia before earning a transfer to Hungarian giants Ferencváros in the summer of 2025.
English football has long enjoyed a huge following in Nigeria, with the Premier League’s biggest clubs such as Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool attracting passionate supporters across the country.
Yusuf was among those captivated by the English game as a youngster, although his favourite player wore the colours of one of Chelsea’s biggest rivals, Arsenal.
Adebayor enjoyed a three-and-a-half-year stint with Arsenal, scoring 62 goals and providing 18 assists in 142 appearances across all competitions.
"I loved Emmanuel Adebayor. I watched him on television in awe, as he almost crushed defenders as an Arsenal player," Yusuf said to Hungarian newspaper Nemzeti Sport.
"He was tall, strong and fast, he scored goals, and as a striker you could learn a lot from him.
"My favorite team was Chelsea, though. Everyone in Nigeria is crazy about English football, so as a child the Premier League was the pinnacle for me."
Yusuf was instrumental in Ferencváros' progression to the Europa League league phase, finding the net against Vojvodina and Trabzonspor during the qualifiers.
Ifeanyi Emmanuel
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