Super Eagles defensive midfielder Wilfred Ndidi revealed he sold sachet water ‘pure water’ to help his mother among several things.
The 24-year-old Leicester City player, like an average Nigerian child, experienced some bit of hardship which led to his desire to hawk on the street as the family sought to eke out a living.
However, none of the things he sold gave him fame more than groundnut and that was where he got the nickname ‘groundnut boy’.
The Super Eagles superstar, who is living out his dream while playing for a Premier League club in the UK have been voted best tackler in the EPL twice.
His impacts were greatly felt by the Foxes when he was ruled out due to injury earlier this season.
While speaking with Nigerian football journalist Oluwashina Okeleji via The Frame online publication, Ndidi said: “I did different things.
“Sometimes I hawked pepper, I sold water [sachets], tomatoes and fruits for my mother. “But I became famous for selling [groundnut] peanuts.
“They call me the groundnut boy. I did all these things to support my mother. “As a side hustle, to get my own personal money I was wiping the windscreens for cars held (up) in traffic.”
“If I’m lucky sometimes I make about N2000 (almost R80) in a day but the highest I made was N3000 (around R118).” Ndidi started his career as a youngster in Lagos with Nath Boys Academy before moving to Belgium to play for Genk.”
Ndidi began his career as a youngster in Lagos with Nath Boys Academy before moving to Belgium to play for Genk.
His performances attracted attention from top clubs but he ended up with Leicester City where he has maintained a high level performance for the Foxes.
