Yakubu (footballer)
|
Yakubu with Guangzhou R&F in 2013 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Yakubu Ayegbeni | ||
| Date of birth | 22 November 1982 | ||
| Place of birth | Benin City, Nigeria | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1994–1997 | Gateway | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1998–1999 | Julius Berger | ||
| 1998 | → Gil Vicente (loan) | ||
| 1999–2003 | Maccabi Haifa | 49 | (38) |
| 1999–2000 | → Hapoel Kfar Saba (loan) | 23 | (6) |
| 2003 | → Portsmouth (loan) | 14 | (7) |
| 2003–2005 | Portsmouth | 67 | (28) |
| 2005–2007 | Middlesbrough | 73 | (25) |
| 2007–2011 | Everton | 82 | (25) |
| 2011 | → Leicester City (loan) | 20 | (11) |
| 2011–2012 | Blackburn Rovers | 30 | (17) |
| 2012–2013 | Guangzhou R&F | 43 | (24) |
| 2014–2015 | Al-Rayyan | 10 | (5) |
| 2015 | Reading | 7 | (0) |
| 2015–2016 | Kayserispor | 12 | (0) |
| 2017 | Coventry City | 3 | (0) |
| Total | 424 | (170) | |
| International career | |||
| 2000–2012 | Nigeria | 58 | (21) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Yakubu Ayegbeni (born 22 November 1982), known mononymously as Yakubu, is a Nigerian football agent and former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is nicknamed "The Yak".
His performances in the 2002–03 UEFA Champions League for Maccabi Haifa earned a loan move to English club Portsmouth which became permanent as they were promoted to the Premier League in 2003. He has since appeared in over 250 Premier League matches for Portsmouth, Middlesbrough, Everton, and Blackburn Rovers, and is the fourth highest African goalscorer in Premier League history with 96 goals. He is the fourth highest scorer in the history of the Nigeria national football team, and represented them at four African Cup of Nations finals, the 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2000 Summer Olympics.