Calvin Bassey

Calvin Bassey[1] (né Ughelumba, born 31 December 1999) is a professional footballer who plays as a left-back or a centre-back for Eredivisie club Ajax and the Nigeria national team.

Calvin Bassey
Personal information
Full name Calvin Bassey[1]
Birth name Calvin Ughelumba[1]
Date of birth (1999-12-31) 31 December 1999
Place of birth Aosta, Italy
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[2]
Position(s) Left-back, centre-back
Team information
Current team
 Ajax
Number 3
Youth career
CM Futsal Academy
2015–2020 Leicester City
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2020–2022 Rangers 37 (0)
2022– Ajax 24 (1)
International career‡
2022– Nigeria 9 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 08:02, 3 May 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19:05, 24 March 2023 (UTC)

Bassey is a product of Leicester City's youth system but didn't make a senior appearance for the club before joining Rangers on a free transfer in July 2020. He made 65 appearances over two seasons for Rangers and won the Scottish Premiership and the Scottish Cup. In July 2022, he signed for Dutch club Ajax, with Rangers receiving the highest transfer fee in their history.

Bassey was born in Italy but has represented Nigeria at international level since making his debut in a 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification game against Ghana in March 2022.

Club career

Leicester City

Bassey joined Leicester City at the age of 15 after a successful trial[3] and progressed through the club's youth ranks, with regular appearances for the clubs' under-18 and under-23 sides.

Rangers

On 6 June 2020, Bassey signed a pre-contract with Rangers,[4] with him due to officially join the club with the opening of the summer transfer window in July.[1] On 9 August 2020, he made his professional debut for Rangers in a Scottish Premiership match versus St Mirren as a substitute in a 3–0 win.[5]

He scored his first and only goal for the club in a 4-0 win against Falkirk in the Scottish League Cup.

Bassey was a key figure for Rangers during their run to the 2022 UEFA Europa League Final, which they lost on penalties to Eintracht Frankfurt.[6]

Ajax

In July 2022, it was confirmed by Rangers that Bassey had been sold to Ajax for a club record fee of around £20 million.[7][8][9] On his debut for the club in the 2022 Johan Cruyff Shield (Dutch Super Cup) on 31 July 2022, he received a direct red card 15 minutes after coming on as a substitute.[10]

International career

Born in Italy,[11] Bassey was eligible to play for Italy, Nigeria or England at international level.[11]

In 2021, Bassey committed his international future to Nigeria when he accepted a call up for their 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.[12] He debuted with Nigeria in a 0–0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification tie with Ghana on 25 March 2022.[13]

Personal life

Calvin Bassey is the brother of English rapper Y.CB, whose real name is Matthew Bassey, who makes music under UK drill group 7th.[14]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 30 April 2023[15]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Leicester City U21 2017–18[16] —————2[lower-alpha 1]020
2018–19[17] —————3[lower-alpha 1]030
2019–20[18] —————6[lower-alpha 1]060
Total 00000000110110
Rangers 2020–21[19] Scottish Premiership 8010214[lower-alpha 2]0—151
2021–22[20] Scottish Premiership 290303015[lower-alpha 2]0—500
Total 370405119000651
Ajax 2022–23 Eredivisie 24150—8[lower-alpha 3]01[lower-alpha 4]0381
Career total 61190512701201142
  1. Appearances in EFL Trophy
  2. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  3. Six appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League
  4. Appearance in Johan Cruyff Shield

International
As of match played 24 March 2023[21]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Nigeria 202280
202310
Total90

Honours

Rangers

Ajax

Individual

References
  1. "Rangers sign defender Calvin Bassey from Leicester". FourFourTwo. 6 June 2020. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  2. "Calvin Bassey". AFC Ajax. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  3. "Exclusive: West Ham submit bid for Leicester City rising star". Football Insider. 30 January 2020. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  4. "Youngster Calvin Bassey Agrees Pre-Contract With Rangers". Leicester City FC. 6 June 2020. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  5. "Rangers 3-0 St Mirren". BBC Sport. 9 August 2020.
  6. Duncan, Thomas (15 July 2022). "Calvin Bassey: Rangers defender's journey from fringe player to Europa League 'colossus'". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
  7. "Calvin Bassey Joins Ajax In Club Record Transfer". www.rangers.co.uk. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  8. Coyle, Andy (20 July 2022). "Rangers sell defender Calvin Bassey to Ajax for club record fee". STV Sport. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  9. "Ajax and Rangers FC reach agreement for Calvin Bassey". AFC Ajax. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  10. PSV down Ajax to lift Dutch Super Cup, News 9 Live, 31 July 2022
  11. "Rangers agree four-year deal with Leicester youngster Calvin Bassey". Sky Sports. 6 June 2020. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  12. "Who is Calvin Bassey? Everything you need to know about the new Nigeria invitee". www.goal.com. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  13. "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™".
  14. "Who Is Calvin Bassey Brother Matthew Bassey? Age Gap Family And Net Worth". pimiso.com. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  15. Calvin Bassey at Soccerway. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  16. "Games played by Calvin Bassey in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  17. "Games played by Calvin Bassey in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  18. "Games played by Calvin Bassey in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  19. "Games played by Calvin Bassey in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  20. "Games played by Calvin Bassey in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  21. "Calvin Bassey". national-football-teams.com (in German). Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  22. "Rangers top-flight champions for first time since 2011 after Celtic drop points". BBC Sport. 7 March 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  23. "Rangers 2-0 Hearts". BBC Sport. 21 May 2022. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  24. "Eintracht Frankfurt 1–1 Rangers". BBC Sport. 18 May 2022. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  25. "PSV wint na strafschoppen van Ajax in bekerfinale vol irritaties en opstootjes" [PSV beats Ajax after penalty kicks in cup final full off irritations and fights] (in Dutch). 30 April 2023. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  26. "2021/22 UEFA Europa League Team of the Season". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 20 May 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
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