Football often runs in the family. It is not even unusual for fathers and sons to both make it professionally and for siblings to grow up with the dream of reaching the elite status. MORAKINYO ABODUNRIN & TAIWO ALIMI here fish out some interesting duos.
The chances of a player becoming professional are already slim and it is more common for one brother to outshine another, but sometimes the two triumph at the highest level.
The story is not different in Nigerian football where the exploits of the Babayaro brothers (Emmanuel and Celestine), the Odegbami brothers (Segun and Wole) Okala brothers (Emmanuel and Patrick), Okocha brothers (Emma and Austin), Uche brothers (Kalu and Ike), and Finidi brothers, (George and late Igeniwari), Uche brothers (Kalu and Ikechukwu) Kanu brothers (Nwankwo and Ogbonna), Utaka brothers (John and Peter) are well known.
Yet, there are others whose exploits are relatively unheralded, but for one of them.
Among them are Yobo brothers (Joseph and Albert), Oruma brothers (Wilson, Dominic, Paul, and Daniel) Ekwueme brothers (Ifeanyi, Sunday, Paschal, Lucky and Martins) Obi brothers (Mikel and Ebere), Enyeama brothers (Vincent and Philip) and Amuneke brothers (Emmanuel, Kingsley and Kevin).
Today, the trend hasn’t change and below is list of current top players whose brothers also play football.
Ola and Jordan Aina
Ola Aina is the regular and mobile defender of Nigeria and Nottingham Forest. He was part of the Super Eagles silver-winning team to this year’s AFCON and was instrumental to Forest’s quest to stay in the Premiership in the just ended season, which earn him another contract.
His less known brother Jordan is presently playing for FC Corinthian as a right or left full back, just like his brother. He also played for Fulham’s U23 squad for the 2020-21 season. He has represented England up to U17 level but is also eligible for Nigeria.
Jordan grew up in London and joined Chelsea’s academy at the age of seven. He progressed through the age groups with the club until the summer of 2020, where he was released aged 18, after playing as a scholar for two years.
Carney and Caleb Chukwuemeka
Carney broke into the Chelsea main team in the ended season starting in nine games and scoring once.
He plays as an attacking midfielder or right winger for Chelsea but was a product of the Northampton Town and Aston Villa academies, where his brother Caleb also attended.
Caleb made his only first-team Aston Villa appearance in an EFL Cup tie in August and has since been a regular for the England Under-23s.
The 21-year-old moved to Villa last summer after two goals in 28 appearances for League One Northampton and currently plays for Tabor Sežana or simply Tabor, is the Slovenian third tier of Slovenian football.
Tosin and Fisayo Adarabioyo
Tosin, the 24-year-old Nigeria and England eligible has spent four seasons in Fulham playing 119 times and scoring five goals as a defender.
Adarabioyo is a former England youth international and represented the country on 14 occasions between the under-16 and under-19 levels, although he is yet to make his senior debut for England.
Tosin started his career at Manchester City, before moving to Birmingham City. After his release by Birmingham in March 2013, he went on trial with Manchester United in July and August 2013, but failed to earn a contract.
His elder brother, Fisayo is a footballer who plays for Altrincham FC in England’s League One. He previously represented Ashton United.
Michael and Richard Olise
The Chelsea FC U21 player Richard shares a deep passion for football, much like his elder brother, Michael Olise, a recognized name in the football arena. Despite his youth, Richard’s journey in football, including his early start at Chelsea as an Under-9 player, signals a bright future ahead.
Richard journey in football began at a young age, following in the footsteps of his brother Michael. His early induction into Chelsea’s youth system marks the beginning of what promises to be a remarkable career in the sport. Despite being younger than Michael, who was born in 2001 and is currently 22 years old, Richard has already shown potential that suggests he could emulate or even surpass his brother’s achievements in football.
Eberechi and Ikechi Eze
The attacking midfielder Eberechi played for four other clubs before he made his senior debut at Queens Park Rangers. He has since joined Crystal Palace in the Premier League scoring 26 times. The England international after making his competitive debut on the 16th of June 2023, has made over 200 club appearances.
Eberechi comes from a footballing family and he actually has two brothers who are both playing football. Ikechi is 27 years-old and is currently playing for Aveley FC. The attacking midfielder has also had spells at Stranraer FC and Braintree Town. The other brother Chimaechi is 20 years-old and he joined the Crystal Palace academy at the start of the 2023/24 season after impressing whilst on trial. He is a forward and used to play in the Queens Park Rangers academy when he was younger.
Andre, Jordan and Ibrahim Ayew
Premier League fans may remember Andre Ayew for his instant impact for Swansea City, in the 2015-16 Premier League season and joining West Ham a year later. Fast forward a few years and you’ll find him captaining the Ghanaian national team, notably at the World Cup.
Only a year younger, Jordan has established himself as a regular starter for Crystal Palace and often plays alongside his brother for Ghana. Eldest brother Ibrahim Ayew has also been capped for Ghana and the defensive midfielder currently plies his trade in Gibraltar, playing for the Lincoln Red Imps.
Kevin-Prince and Jerome Boateng
At the 2010 World Cup, history was made as brothers Kevin-Prince Boateng and Jerome Boateng lined up on different sides for a group match between Ghana and Germany. The Europeans won the match 1-0.
Four years later, the two teams met again at the 2014 World Cup. Again, the two half brothers featured – this time in a 2-2 draw.
Centre-back Jerome had the more successful career, winning the World Cup in 2014 and spending 10 seasons at Bayern Munich. Kevin-Prince, by contrast, won only 15 caps for Ghana, but did play for some big clubs in a colourful career – including AC Milan, Tottenham, Fiorentina and, briefly, Barcelona.
Inaki and Nico Williams
The Williams brothers both play for La Liga side Athletic Bilbao, with eldest brother Inaki occupying the left wing and Nico on the right. Hailing from the Basque country, they were a natural fit for the highly selective La Liga side.
Inaki became the first black player to score for the club in February 2015 and in the spirit of breaking records, his revered fitness record saw him establish 251 consecutive appearances, the most in the Spanish top-flight. An absence of competitive appearances for Spain saw him change allegiances to Ghana in July 2022, qualifying through his parents.
Nico made his first team debut for Athletic in April 2021 and earned a call-up to the Spain under-21s in the same year. Unlike his brother, Nico was later called up to the senior squad at the Qatar World Cup over a year later, with Inaki going on to represent the Black Stars instead.
Granit and Taulant Xhaka
Granit Xhaka’s redemption arc over the year has certainly been one to behold in the footballing world. While many expected it to come full circle, with the Swiss midfielder playing under the Emirates lights for their first UCL night in six years, Granit opted to join Xabi Alonso’s promising Bayer Leverkusen.
A stalwart in the Switzerland national team, no one would blame you if you were unaware that Granit’s older brother Taulant, is also a professional footballer. The 32-year-old midfielder plays for Swiss side Basel and chose to represent Albania, with his eligibility lying with his parents.
Eden, Thorgan and Kylian Hazard
Long gone are the days where Eden Hazard regularly provided mesmerising displays for both Chelsea and Belgium, with his career going on a downhill trajectory, following his club record move to Real Madrid in 2019.
Injury woes and the emergence of Brazilian superstar Vinicius Jr, hampered the winger’s Real career to the point of no return. Eden eventually went out on a whimper last summer, following the termination of his contract and remains a free agent.
Attacking midfielder Thorgan made a name for himself in the Bundesliga, playing for both Borussia Monchengladbach and Borussia Dortmund. He also enjoyed a successful period with Belgium alongside his brother and captain. Younger brother Kylian is also a professional footballer, playing in the Belgian Pro League for RWDM.
Romelu and Jordan Lukaku
The consistently polarising Romelu Lukaku has been involved in enough drama to last him and his family a lifetime, yet it might be unknown to some that he has a younger brother, named Jordan. The left back came through Anderlecht’s academy, later securing a move to Lazio, after three years at Oostende.
While Romelu was a mainstay in the Belgium national team, the same honour wasn’t afforded to his brother, who only made one appearance in Euro 2016.
Jude and Jobe Bellingham
Both Jude and Jobe rose through Birmingham City’s academy ranks, with Jude recently becoming one of the most expensive English players of all time, following his transfer to Real Madrid.
Given the iconic no.5 jersey, worn previously by the likes of Zinedine Zidane, Jude has made tremendous stride in Madrid winning the La liga and Champions League and emerging a regular in the England national team.
Jude was not the only one on the move though, with younger brother Jobe leaving his boyhood club to play at the Stadium of Light for Sunderland.
Toni and Felix Kroos
Toni and Felix Kroos played together at youth level, for Hansa Rostock, but while one has gone on to enjoy worldwide acclaim, the other’s career has been somewhat more modest.
After becoming Bayern’s youngest-ever Bundesliga debutant in September 2007, Toni spent one-and-a-half seasons on loan at Leverkusen between 2010 and 2011. He won multiple titles back at Bayern and lifted the FIFA World Cup in 2014, before earning a move to Real Madrid, where the four-time Champions League winner has cemented his legacy as one of the finest midfielders in history.
Felix, on the other hand, although once hailed as “the better Kroos” by his former youth coach at Bremen, has yet to hit such dizzy career heights.
Now 27 – two years Toni’s junior – the ex-Bremen midfielder finds himself in the second tier of German football, playing for promotion candidates Union Berlin.
Felix and Mario Götze
With six years between them, the Götze brothers have never played in the same side professionally, but they’ve always had each other’s backs.
Young Felix was making only his second Bundesliga appearance, having joined Augsburg from Bayern in summer 2018. He spent four years in Munich, albeit playing for the U17s, U19s and reserves.
Mario had already been on the Bayern books for a year when his brother rocked up. He won three of his five Bundesliga titles to date in Munich, before returning to the scene of his big career break, Borussia Dortmund, in 2016. He famously scored Germany’s World Cup final-winning goal at Brazil 2014.
Rafael and Fabio da Silva
Fabio Pereira da Silva, famously recognised as Fabio or Fabio da Silva, was born on 9 July 1990 in Brazil and now plays as a full-back for the French team Nantes. Fabio and his identical brother Rafael started their careers at Fluminense before being recruited by the English team Manchester United in February 2007.
In 2011, when Fabio represented Manchester United in the UEFA Champions League Final against Barcelona and won the Premier League, he made two appearances for Brazil at the senior international level.
Harry, Joe and Laurence Maguire
As with Kurt Zouma, it wasn’t until controversy hit Harry Maguire that the nation became aware of his footballing sibling.
Joe Maguire, who is also a centre-back and a year older than England and Manchester United ace Harry, was caught up in the Mykonos brawl in August 2020. Like Harry, Joe was convicted of assault by the Greek authorities and handed a suspended prison sentence.
In terms of his football, Joe couldn’t really be further from Harry. He currently plays for Ilkeston Town in the Northern Premier League Division One Midlands.
There is another Maguire brother in football too, with Laurence Maguire, the youngest of the three, forging a decent career for himself at Chesterfield in the National League.
Tammy and Timmy Abraham
Timmy Abraham is making his own way in football out of the shadow of older brother Tammy.
Whilst older brother Tammy came through Chelsea’s famed academy, Timmy began his career with Charlton before joining London rivals Fulham aged 16.
He went on to have loan spells with Bristol Rovers, Plymouth, Raith Rovers and Newport, before joining Walsall in 2022.
Meanwhile, his older brother won the Champions League with the Blues before moving to Italian giants Roma, where he currently plays.
He has also won 11 caps for England, scoring three goals for the Three Lions.
Timmy meanwhile joined Maidstone (National League South) on loan from Boreham Wood in December.
