Umar Sadiq facts for kids
Sadiq with Nigeria at the 2016 Summer Olympics
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| Personal information | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Umar Sadiq Mesbah | ||||||
| Date of birth | 2 February 1997 | ||||||
| Place of birth | Kaduna, Nigeria | ||||||
| Height | 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) | ||||||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||||||
| Team information | |||||||
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Current team
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Real Sociedad | ||||||
| Youth career | |||||||
| Kuso Boys | |||||||
| Future of Africa | |||||||
| Football College Abuja | |||||||
| 2014–2015 | Spezia | ||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||
| 2014–2016 | Spezia | 0 | (0) | ||||
| 2014 | → Lavagnese (loan) | 1 | (0) | ||||
| 2015–2016 | → Roma (loan) | 6 | (2) | ||||
| 2016–2020 | Roma | 0 | (0) | ||||
| 2016–2017 | → Bologna (loan) | 7 | (0) | ||||
| 2017 | → Torino (loan) | 3 | (0) | ||||
| 2018 | → NAC Breda (loan) | 12 | (5) | ||||
| 2018 | → Rangers (loan) | 1 | (0) | ||||
| 2019 | → Perugia (loan) | 17 | (3) | ||||
| 2019–2020 | → Partizan (loan) | 24 | (12) | ||||
| 2020 | Partizan | 10 | (6) | ||||
| 2020–2022 | Almería | 79 | (40) | ||||
| 2022– | Real Sociedad | 35 | (4) | ||||
| 2025 | → Valencia (loan) | 16 | (5) | ||||
| International career‡ | |||||||
| 2016 | Nigeria U23 | 6 | (4) | ||||
| 2022– | Nigeria | 12 | (1) | ||||
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Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 27 May 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 18 November 2024 |
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Umar Sadiq Mesbah (born on February 2, 1997) is a professional footballer from Nigeria. He plays as a striker for the Spanish club Real Sociedad and also for the Nigerian national team.
Sadiq also played for the Nigeria under-23 team. He was a key player when they won a bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Contents
Club Career
Starting Out in Football
Umar Sadiq was born in Kaduna, Nigeria. He began playing football on the streets of his hometown when he was very young. Later, he joined local teams like Kusa Boys and the Future of Africa Football Academy. He then moved to the Football College Abuja.
In June 2013, Sadiq traveled to Croatia with his academy team. They played in a youth tournament called Kvarnerska Rivijera. Sadiq was the top scorer in the competition, and his team became the champions.
Playing for Spezia
After showing great promise in Croatia, Sadiq joined the Italian club Spezia. He mostly played for their youth teams. In the 2014–15 season, Sadiq was the top scorer in the Campionato Primavera, which is a youth league. He scored an amazing 26 goals in just 24 games.
First Senior Game at Lavagnese
Soon after joining Spezia, Sadiq was loaned to Serie D team Lavagnese. He made his first senior team appearance in the last game of the 2013–14 season.
Loan to Roma
In July 2015, Sadiq joined Roma on a one-year loan. He quickly started scoring goals for Roma's youth team. He scored eight goals in his first three youth matches.
Sadiq made his Serie A debut (first division in Italy) on November 21, 2015. He scored his first goal for Roma on December 20, helping his team win 2–0 against Genoa. He scored again in his first start for Roma on January 6, 2016. He finished that season with two goals in six Serie A games.
Joining Roma Permanently
On June 21, 2016, Roma decided to sign Sadiq permanently until June 2020. He even scored a goal for the first team during a pre-season tournament in the United States.
Loan Spells in Europe
Sadiq went on several loan spells to gain more experience.
- He played for Bologna in the 2016–17 season, appearing in seven Serie A games.
- In August 2017, he joined Torino on loan.
- In January 2018, Sadiq moved to the Dutch club NAC Breda. He scored five goals in 12 games, helping them avoid being relegated.
- In July 2018, he joined Scottish Premiership side Rangers on loan.
- In January 2019, Sadiq went on loan to Serie B team Perugia. He scored three goals in 17 games.
- In July 2019, Sadiq joined the Serbian club Partizan on loan. He scored his first goal for them on August 4. He also scored two goals in a UEFA Europa League match against Astana. On November 22, he scored his first senior hat-trick (three goals in one game).
Moving to Almería
On October 5, 2020, Sadiq signed a five-year contract with the Spanish club UD Almería, which plays in the Segunda División (second division). He quickly became a very important player for them.
Playing for Real Sociedad
On September 1, 2022, Sadiq signed a contract with Real Sociedad until the end of the 2027–28 season. Just two days later, he scored his first goal for the club in a 1–1 draw against Atlético Madrid. On September 8, he played in a big match against Manchester United at Old Trafford, which Real Sociedad won 1–0.
However, a few days later, Sadiq suffered a serious knee injury (an Anterior cruciate ligament injury). He had surgery and was out for the rest of the season.
Sadiq returned to play at the start of the 2023–24 La Liga season. He made his UEFA Champions League debut against Inter Milan. On November 26, 2023, he scored his first goal of the season in a 2–1 win over Sevilla. He also won the La Liga Goal of the Month award for March 2025.
Loan to Valencia
On January 4, 2025, Valencia announced that Sadiq had joined them on loan from Real Sociedad until June 30, 2025.
International Career
In July 2016, Sadiq was chosen to be part of Nigeria's team for the 2016 Summer Olympics. He played in all six of his team's games and scored four goals. This included two goals in the match for the bronze medal against Honduras, which Nigeria won.
After playing well for Partizan and Almería, Sadiq was called up to the Nigerian national team. He was part of the squad for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches in March 2021.
Sadiq was also named in the Nigerian squad for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast. However, he got injured in early January 2024 and had to be replaced.
Career Statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Spezia | 2013–14 | Serie B | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2014–15 | Serie B | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2015–16 | Serie B | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Lavagnese (loan) | 2013–14 | Serie D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Roma (loan) | 2015–16 | Serie A | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 6 | 2 | ||
| Roma | 2016–17 | Serie A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2017–18 | Serie A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2018–19 | Serie A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2019–20 | Serie A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 6 | 2 | ||||
| Bologna (loan) | 2016–17 | Serie A | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 7 | 0 | |||
| Torino (loan) | 2017–18 | Serie A | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | |||
| NAC Breda (loan) | 2017–18 | Eredivisie | 12 | 5 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 12 | 5 | |||
| Rangers (loan) | 2018–19 | Scottish Premiership | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | |
| Perugia (loan) | 2018–19 | Serie B | 17 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | 18 | 3 | ||
| Partizan (loan) | 2019–20 | Serbian SuperLiga | 24 | 12 | 3 | 0 | — | 12 | 5 | — | 39 | 17 | ||
| Partizan | 2020–21 | Serbian SuperLiga | 10 | 6 | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | — | 13 | 6 | ||
| Total | 34 | 18 | 3 | 0 | — | 16 | 5 | — | 52 | 23 | ||||
| Almería | 2020–21 | Segunda División | 40 | 20 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | 43 | 22 | |||
| 2021–22 | Segunda División | 36 | 18 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | 38 | 19 | ||||
| 2022–23 | La Liga | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 3 | 2 | |||||
| Total | 79 | 40 | 5 | 3 | — | — | — | 84 | 43 | |||||
| Real Sociedad | 2022–23 | La Liga | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 3 | 1 | ||
| 2023–24 | La Liga | 26 | 3 | 6 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | — | 36 | 3 | |||
| 2024–25 | La Liga | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | — | 11 | 0 | |||
| Total | 35 | 4 | 7 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | — | 50 | 4 | ||||
| Valencia (loan) | 2024–25 | La Liga | 16 | 5 | 3 | 1 | — | — | — | 19 | 6 | |||
| Career total | 211 | 77 | 18 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 24 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 256 | 86 | ||
International
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nigeria | 2022 | 7 | 1 |
| 2023 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 12 | 1 | |
- Scores and results list Nigeria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Sadiq goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 19 January 2022 | Roumdé Adjia Stadium, Garoua, Cameroon |  Guinea-Bissau |
1–0 | 2–0 | 2021 Africa Cup Of Nations |
Honours
Umar Sadiq has won several awards and titles throughout his career:
Roma Primavera
- Campionato Nazionale Primavera: 2015–16 (This is a top youth league title in Italy)
Almería
- Segunda División: 2021–22 (This means his team won the second division league in Spain)
Nigeria U23
- Olympic Games bronze medal: 2016 (He helped his country win a bronze medal at the Olympics)
Individual
- La Liga Goal of the Month: March 2025 (This award is for scoring the best goal in the Spanish top league for that month)
See also
In Spanish: Umar Sadiq para niños
