William Troost-Ekong Biography: Early Life, Career, Awards, Family & Salary
William Troost-Ekong MON (born September 1, 1993) is a professional football centre-back for Saudi Pro League team Al-Kholood. He was born in the Netherlands and served as the captain of Nigeria’s national team.
Troost-Ekong, who was born into a mixed Dutch-Nigerian household, may represent both the Netherlands and Nigeria at the international level. He made his debut for Nigeria in 2015 and has since earned over 80 caps.
The Super Eagles captain, William Troost-Ekong, has declared his retirement from international football. Troost-Ekong’s retirement occurs just weeks before the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.
Club Career
Troost-Ekong attended Hockerill Anglo-European College in Bishop’s Stortford, England, for high school. Troost-Ekong began his professional career in the Netherlands with FC Groningen and FC Dordrecht, after playing for Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur as a teenager.
After being linked with moves to Celtic, among others, he signed for Belgian team KAA Gent in July 2015 and was promptly loaned out to Norwegian club FK Haugesund.
Troost-Ekong joined Bursaspor of the Turkish Süper Lig in July 2017. Troost-Ekong signed with Udinese of the Italian Serie A on August 17, 2018. In his first season in the Serie A, he played 35 league games and was booked four times, helping Udinese finish 12th.
The following season, Udinese finished 13th, with two more points. Despite the team’s rather poor league performances, Troost-Ekong started (and played the entire 90 minutes) in famous victories over AC Milan and Juventus during his two seasons at Le Zebrette.
On September 29, 2020, Troost-Ekong signed a five-year contract with EFL Championship club Watford. He scored his first goal for the club in a 3-2 victory over Coventry City on November 7, 2020.
Troost-Ekong signed a loan agreement with Serie A club Salernitana on January 24, 2023, with the option to buy at the end of the season. On July 4, 2023, he signed a permanent deal with Super League Greece club PAOK for a free transfer. Troost-Ekong joined Al-Kholood, a Saudi Arabian club, on August 23, 2024.
International career
Troost-Ekong was born in the Netherlands to a Dutch mother named Eleanore Troost and a Nigerian father. He has two siblings: Emily and Everest. Troost-Ekong chose to represent Nigeria after previously representing the Netherlands at the under-19 and under-20 junior levels.
On June 13, 2015, he made his senior international debut for the Super Eagles, playing 90 minutes in an AFCON qualifier against Chad. He earned three senior team appearances in 2016 before being named to Nigeria’s under-23 team in the 35-man preliminary squad for the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics.
In June 2018, he was nominated to Nigeria’s 23-man FIFA World Cup team in Russia. Troost-Ekong was nominated to the country’s 23-man roster for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, where he scored an 89th-minute winner against South Africa to help his team advance to the semi-finals and finish in third place.
He captained the Super Eagles in the postponed 2021 Africa Cup of Nations and was selected to the Tournament Technical Study Group’s Best XI of the Group Stage after scoring against Guinea-Bissau. Tunisia advanced to the next round, defeating Nigeria.
During the 2022 World Cup qualification third round, he scored a penalty in the second leg match against Ghana, which resulted in a 1-1 tie and a defeat on the away goals rule; hence, his nation failed to qualify for the main tournament in Qatar.
Troost-Ekong was chosen for the Ivory Coast’s 25-man Africa Cup of Nations team on December 29, 2023. In the second group stage encounter against the Ivory Coast, he converted a penalty to win 1-0. In the semi-final encounter against South Africa, he scored another penalty to give his team the lead in a 1-1 tie before scoring in the shootouts, which resulted in a 4-2 victory.
He later scored the opening goal in the final against the Ivory Coast, which resulted in a 2-1 defeat. Nonetheless, he won the Player of the Tournament award. His five goals at the AFCON set the current record for the most goals scored by a defender in the tournament’s history.
William Troost-Ekong Wife
William Troost-Ekong has been married to his wife, Molly, since 2021. The couple’s two children were born in 2018 and 2019. Molly is well-known for her support of Troost-Ekong’s professional football career.
William Troost-Ekong Net Worth
William Troost-Ekong’s net worth is predicted to be $5 million, making him one of Nigeria’s richest footballers.
Social Media
Instagram: @wtroostekong
