Oluwaseyi Babajide "Sheyi" Ojo (born 19 June 1997) is an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a winger for

Slovenian PrvaLiga The Slovenian PrvaLiga (, ), currently named Prva liga Telemach due to sponsorship reasons, also known by the abbreviation 1. SNL, is the top level of the Slovenian football league system. Contested by ten clubs, it operates on a system of prom ...

club

Maribor Maribor ( , , ; also known by other #Name, historical names) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, second-largest city in Slovenia and the largest city of the traditional region of Styria (Slovenia), Lower Styria. It is the seat of the ...

. Ojo joined

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

as a 14-year-old and came through their

academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

. He spent time on loan with

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

clubs

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...

and

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...

before making his competitive debut for Liverpool in January 2016. Ojo has represented England at under-16, under-17, under-18, under-19, under-20 and under-21 levels.

Club career

Early career

Ojo joined MK Dons' academy when he was 10 years old. By the age of 13, he had played for the Dons' U18 side and was training with the first team squad. During his time at the club, Ojo became the first MK Dons trainee to receive an international cap at youth level.

Liverpool

On 11 November 2011, Liverpool beat off competition from a host of Europe's top clubs including a multimillion-pound offer from Chelsea to sign Ojo, then 14, for an undisclosed fee believed to be in the region of £2 million. In April 2014, Ojo was joint top scorer alongside fellow Liverpool player Harry Wilson in the U17 Future Cup.

Loan to Wigan

Having made a number of appearances on Liverpool's bench over the festive period, Ojo joined

on loan on 2 February 2015. Five days later, he made his professional debut coming on as a 59th-minute substitute for Wigan in a Championship match against

AFC Bournemouth AFC Bournemouth ( ) is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. ...

, with Wigan naming Ojo as their Man of the Match after he had a positive impact on the game.

Loan to Wolverhampton Wanderers

On 2 August 2015, Ojo scored the winning goal for Liverpool in a friendly against

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team, known as the "Robins", currently compete in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded as Swindon A ...

. On 4 August 2015, Liverpool announced that Ojo had signed a new long-term contract with the club and confirmed that he would join

on a season-long loan. He made his Wolves debut on the opening day of the 2015–16 Championship season as a substitute, coming on in the 84th minute and picking up a yellow card as his side went on to beat Blackburn Rovers. Three days later, he made his first start for Wolves in a 2–1 League Cup win over Newport County, assisting Nouha Dicko for Wolves' opening goal.

Return to Liverpool

He was recalled by Liverpool on 7 January 2016. The next day, Ojo made his competitive first-team debut for Liverpool, as a substitute in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

Third round Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (di ...

tie against Exeter City that ended in a 2–2 draw. He scored his first competitive goal for Liverpool in the replay against Exeter on 20 January; his goal was the second in a 3–0 victory. Ojo made his

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

debut on 20 March 2016, replacing Joe Allen in the 87th minute in a 3–2 loss away to

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

at St Mary's Stadium. Three weeks later, he made his first start for Liverpool in the Premier League against Stoke City at

Anfield Anfield is a Association football, football stadium in the area of Anfield (suburb), Anfield, Liverpool, England, which has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since its formation in 1892. The stadium has a seating capacity of 61,276, making it the ...

, where he assisted Daniel Sturridge for Liverpool's second goal in a 4–1 win, before being replaced by Divock Origi. Ahead of the 2016–17 season, Ojo sustained a fracture in his back and did not return to first team training until mid-November.

Loan to Fulham

On 16 August 2017, Ojo joined

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

on season-long loan. He scored a double in a 5–4 win over Sheffield United, on 21 November. He scored the winning goal in a 1–0 win over

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

, on 9 December. On 23 December, Ojo received a yellow card and scored in a 2–1 win over

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

Loan to Stade de Reims

On 30 August 2018, Ojo signed a new contract with Liverpool and joined Stade de Reims on a season-long loan. He also played for Reims II.

Loan to Rangers

On 18 June 2019, Rangers of the

Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, also known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Scotland and the highest level of the Scottish football league system. Th ...

announced they signed Ojo on a season-long loan, a day before his 22nd birthday. He made his competitive debut for the club on 9 July 2019 in a 4–0 win over St Joseph's of Gibraltar in the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League, and scored the second goal. He scored 4 goals for Rangers in Europe.

Loan to Cardiff City

Ojo joined

club Cardiff City on 7 September 2020 for the 2020–21 season. He scored his first goal for Cardiff in a 1–0 win over Preston North End on 18 October.

Loan to Millwall

On 31 August 2021, Ojo went out on his seventh loan move, this time joining Millwall until 30 June 2022. In June 2022 it was announced by Liverpool that he would leave the club at the end of the month when his contract expired.

Cardiff City

On 13 July 2022, Ojo returned to Cardiff City on a permanent basis, signing a two-year contract. On 16 August 2023, Ojo joined

Belgian Pro League The Belgian Pro League (; ; ), officially the Jupiler Pro League () for sponsor Jupiler, is a professional association football league in Belgium and the highest level of the Belgian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs from the 2023 ...

club

K.V. Kortrijk Koninklijke Voetbalclub Kortrijk (often simply called KV Kortrijk or KVK) is a Belgian professional football club based in Kortrijk, West Flanders. They play in the Belgian First Division, and they achieved their best ranking ever during the 20 ...

on a season-long loan. On 7 June 2024, Cardiff announced he would be leaving in the summer when his contract expired.

Maribor

On 6 September 2024, Ojo joined the 16-times Slovenian champions

on a two-year deal.

International career

As Ojo was born in England, he is eligible to represent

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, and through his Nigerian heritage is also eligible to play for

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

in international football. Ojo has represented England at under-16, under-17, under-18, under-19, under-20 and under-21 levels. In his early teens, Ojo often played at a higher age group at international level, representing England U17s at the St George's Park Tournament in 2012 at the age of 15. Ojo also represented England U17s in the 2014 Algarve Tournament, with England coming second to Germany after a 1–0 loss in the final game. In September 2014, Ojo received his first under-18 call-up for a double header against the Netherlands. Ojo appeared in both games with England winning by an aggregate score of 7–2. In late August 2015, Ojo received his first call-up to the under-19 team and played the full 90 minutes in a 3–2 friendly away win over

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

on 4 September. At the 2016 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, he started against

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and helped ''The Young Lions'' secure a 2–1 win by providing two assists. Ojo was selected for the England under-20 team in the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup. He made his tournament debut in the match against

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

, and was a substitute in a few other games, including the semi-final match against

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

in which he assisted in two of the goals. In the final, Ojo came on as a substitute for Kieran Dowell in the 62nd minute. England beat

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

1–0, which was the country's first win in a global tournament since their

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

victory of 1966. In September 2018, he stated he could represent Nigeria at senior level in the future.

Personal life

Born in

Hemel Hempstead Hemel Hempstead () is a town in the Dacorum district in Hertfordshire, England. It is located north-west of London; nearby towns and cities include Watford, St Albans and Berkhamsted. The population at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 cens ...

, England, his name "Babajide" is a variant form of the Yoruba name: Babatunde, meaning "Father has Returned" or "Father Comes Back to Life". During his time with the Liverpool Football Academy, Ojo was a student at Rainhill Media Arts College in

Rainhill Rainhill is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, Merseyside, England. The population at the 2011 census was 10,853. Historically part of Lancashire, Rainhill was a township in the ecclesiastical parish of Prescot ...

Career statistics

Honours

England U20 *

FIFA U-20 World Cup The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members' men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 when i ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

References

External links

Sheyi Ojo
at the Liverpool F.C. website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ojo, Sheyi 1997 births Living people Footballers from Hemel Hempstead English men's footballers England men's youth international footballers England men's under-21 international footballers English expatriate men's footballers Men's association football forwards Milton Keynes Dons F.C. players Liverpool F.C. players Wigan Athletic F.C. players Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Fulham F.C. players Stade de Reims players Rangers F.C. players Cardiff City F.C. players Millwall F.C. players K.V. Kortrijk players NK Maribor players English Football League players Premier League players Ligue 1 players Championnat National 2 players Scottish Professional Football League players Belgian Pro League players Slovenian PrvaLiga players Black British sportsmen 21st-century Black British people English people of Nigerian descent Sportspeople of Nigerian descent English people of Yoruba descent Yoruba sportspeople Expatriate men's footballers in France Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Expatriate men's footballers in Slovenia English expatriate sportspeople in France English expatriate sportspeople in Belgium English expatriate sportspeople in Slovenia 21st-century English sportsmen