Iwobi breaks Mikel's record becoming the Nigerian with the most number of minutes played

FULHAM playmaker Alex Iwobi has broken John Mikel Obi's record and become the Nigerian player to have featured in the English Premier League for the longest period of time after he chalked up a total of 16,289 minutes after the weekend's game.

Iwobi, 27, who has 78 international caps for Nigeria, joined Fulham from Everton on September 2 2023 and has gone on to become one of the mainstays of the side this season under manager Marco Silva. On Saturday, he played all 90 minutes against Newcastle, which brought his total number of Premier league minutes to 16,289 minutes, surpassing Mikel’s previous record of 16,218 minutes.

Unfortunately for Iwobi, however, the match ended in a loss as Newcastle beat Fulham 1-0 at Craven Cottage.  With seven games remaining in the 2023/24 Premier League season, Iwobi has the opportunity to further solidify his record as the Nigerian with the most minutes played.

Mikel, former Super Eagles captain, who debuted for Chelsea in 2006, held the record for years, accumulating minutes until his departure from the club at the end of the 2016/17 season. Despite notable Nigerian players like Nwankwo Kanu, Celestine Babayaro, Austin Okocha, Yakubu Aiyegbeni and Joseph Yobo also gracing the Premier League, Mikel's record was never under threat.

Iwobi, who started his Premier League career with Arsenal before moving to Everton, before switching to Fulham, has steadily accumulated minutes. Related to former Super Eagles skipper, Austin JJ Okocha, who is his maternal uncle, Iwobi was born in Lagos before moving to England at the age of four, following a brief stay in Turkey and he grew up in Newham, in east London.