Brown Ideye Retires from Football After Short Enyimba Stint
Former Super Eagles forward Brown Ideye has officially retired from professional football at the age of 36, Nigeriasoccernet.com can report.
He last played for Enyimba, joining in December 2024 on a short-term deal that ended in May 2025.
Ideye openly criticised the club’s welfare and bonus payments, saying on the Bet9ja Home Turf podcast: “At Enyimba, we were receiving N7,000 a day. Sometimes N8,000. It’s not even stable. One day it’s N7k, another day N8k.”
Announcing his retirement on X, Ideye wrote: “After much thought and consideration with mixed emotions, I’ve decided to retire from professional football… I thank my family and friends for their unwavering love, support, and understanding till this day.”
He also appreciated Nigeria, saying: “Thank you, Nigeria, for the opportunity you gave me to wear the national colours and to be among the Super Eagles… Though my time as a pro-player has come to an end, football will always be a part of my life as I enter my next chapter.”
https://twitter.com/brownaideideye/status/1957929681878986871
— (@brownaideideye) December 6, 2017
At Enyimba, Ideye scored five goals in 13 appearances but could not help the team past the CAF Confederation Cup group stage. The Stanley Eguma-led side finished 6th in the NPFL, 16 points behind champions Remo Stars.
Ideye started at Bayelsa and Ocean Boys before moving to Europe, where he played for Neuchatel Xamax, FC Sochaux, Dynamo Kyiv, West Bromwich Albion, Olympiacos, TJ Teda, Málaga CF, Tianjin JMT, Aris Saloniki, Goztepe, and Al-Yarmouk SC.
He made his Super Eagles debut in November 2010 against Korea Republic and was part of the team that won the 2013 AFCON under Stephen Keshi. Overall, he earned 27 caps for Nigeria, scoring six goals.
His career spanned 431 matches with 155 goals, marking him as one of Nigeria’s most experienced journeyman strikers.
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