{"id":878341,"date":"2025-12-17T23:21:41","date_gmt":"2025-12-18T05:21:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/17\/ex-leicester-man-ahmed-musa-ends-nigeria-career-what-troost-ekong-ndidi-ighalo-said\/"},"modified":"2025-12-17T23:21:41","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T05:21:41","slug":"ex-leicester-man-ahmed-musa-ends-nigeria-career-what-troost-ekong-ndidi-ighalo-said","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/17\/ex-leicester-man-ahmed-musa-ends-nigeria-career-what-troost-ekong-ndidi-ighalo-said\/","title":{"rendered":"Ex-Leicester man Ahmed Musa ends Nigeria career: What Troost-Ekong, Ndidi, Ighalo said"},"content":{"rendered":"

Soccer <\/p>\n

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\"Soccer<\/p>\n

Ahmed Musa. Photo by IMAGO<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Ahmed Musa<\/a>, Nigeria\u2019s most capped international footballer, has announced his retirement from the Super Eagles<\/a>, Soccernet.ng reports<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Musa’s decision brings an end to a 15-year international career that spanned three World Cups, five Africa Cup of Nations tournaments and 111 appearances in green and white.<\/p>\n

The former Leicester City<\/a> winger confirmed his decision on Wednesday via Instagram, a day after Nigeria\u2019s 2-1 friendly defeat to Egypt in<\/a> Cairo, closing the curtain on a national team journey that began when he was just 17.<\/p>\n

\"Soccer
Nigeria Super Eagles captain Ahmed Musa. Photo by IMAGO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Musa\u2019s announcement comes after his omission from Eric Chelle<\/a>\u2019s latest Super Eagles squad for the Africa Cup of Nations<\/a> in Morocco, a decision that appears to have crystallised a gradual step away from the international scene.<\/p>\n

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Musa wrote: \u201cI wore this badge with pride for 15 years. From a 17-year-old boy answering every call to becoming the most capped Super Eagle with 111 appearances. AFCON champion Nigeria\u2019s highest World Cup goalscorer \u26bd\ufe0f<\/p>\n

\u201cCaptain. Servant. Believer.<\/p>\n

\u201cI gave everything.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you Nigeria\u2026 my heart will always beat green \u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Get Our Sports News First \u2013 Join Our WhatsApp Channel Now!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Though he remained adamant in recent months that his international story was not yet finished, Musa had seen his influence reduced under successive coaches, from Finidi George<\/a> to Augustine Eguavoen, before being overlooked again by Chelle.<\/p>\n

Yet even in decline, his status within the game never diminished.<\/p>\n

\"Soccer
Nigeria Super Eagles captain Ahmed Musa. Photo by IMAGO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Soccer Ahmed Musa: Tributes pour in as Super Eagles salute a \u2018Legend\u2019<\/h2>\n

Reaction from across Nigerian football was swift and emotional, led by those who shared dressing rooms, leadership duties and major tournaments with Musa.<\/p>\n

Former Super Eagles captain William Troost-Ekong<\/a>, who himself retired from international football<\/a> last month, offered a single-word tribute that captured the sentiment of many: \u201cLegend<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Soccer
Nigeria Super Eagles captain Ahmed Musa. Photo by IMAGO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Wilfred Ndidi<\/a>, widely tipped to assume the captaincy going forward, wrote: \u201cSkippo. Governor. Legend.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Former Super Falcons<\/a> captain Desire Oparanozie added: \u201cThe governor. Thank you for your service.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

And 2019 AFCON top scorer Odion Ighalo<\/a> also paid his respects, simply posting: \u201cSkippo<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Soccer
Ahmed Musa of Nigeria during the Super Eagles walk out. Photo by iMAGO\/Shengolpixs\/Olawale Quadry Copyright: xxIMAGO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Musa bows out as Nigeria\u2019s most capped player, having overtaken Joseph Yobo\u2019s long-standing record in 2021. He remains Nigeria\u2019s highest goalscorer at the FIFA World Cup, memorably netting two goals against Argentina in 2014 and another brace against Iceland in 2018.<\/p>\n

An Africa Cup of Nations winner in 2013 and a silver medallist at the 2023 tournament in Ivory Coast, Musa\u2019s later years with the Super Eagles were defined more by leadership than minutes on the pitch, a role coaches and teammates consistently credited him for.<\/p>\n

\"Soccer
Super Eagles captain Ahmed Musa and Kano State Governor. Photo Credit: Kano Pillars\/ Facebook<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Off the field, Musa remains deeply involved in Nigerian football. He currently serves as General Manager of Kano Pillars, his boyhood club, while also turning out as a player, a rare dual role.<\/p>\n

Musa’s departure marks the end of an era for Nigerian football. For Ahmed Musa, it is the closing chapter of a career built on longevity, service and an unbreakable bond with the national badge.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"<!--Imhonlamhen Eronmhonsele” src=”https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/app\/uploads\/2024\/12\/DSC_0327-copy-150×150.jpg” height=”80″ width=”80″>\t\t<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\tImhonlamhen Eronmhonsele\t\t\t\t<\/a>
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\n\t\t\t\tA lifelong fan of Arsenal and the Super Eagles, Imhonlamhen is a football writer and editor at Soccernet.ng, where his journey as a journalist began more than six years ago. Since then, he has helped shape the platform\u2019s editorial voice and guided it toward some of its proudest milestones. <\/p>\n

With a background in Engineering and further training in journalism and digital media, Imhons brings both precision and passion to his storytelling. His love for football runs deep, but he also follows boxing, chess, and athletics with equal curiosity.\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Read More<\/a>Imhonlamhen Eronmhonsele<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Soccer Ahmed Musa. Photo by IMAGO Ahmed Musa, Nigeria\u2019s most capped international footballer, has announced his retirement from the Super Eagles, Soccernet.ng reports. Musa’s decision brings an end to a 15-year international career that spanned three World Cups, five Africa Cup of Nations tournaments and 111 appearances in green and white. The former Leicester City […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":878342,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[77865,143864,2005],"tags":[19818,143863],"class_list":{"0":"post-878341","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ahmed","8":"category-ex-leicester","9":"category-soccer","10":"tag-ahmed","11":"tag-ex-leicester"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/878341","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=878341"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/878341\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/878342"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=878341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=878341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=878341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}