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Claim: An X user claims Kareem Adeyemi becomes the first Nigerian to play for Barca.
Verdict: False. Although Adeyemi’s father is Nigerian, he—Adeyemi—was born in Munich, Germany, and is identified as a German international. Furthermore, Barcelona’s historical records show that before Adeyemi joined the club, Emmanuel Amunike and Samuel Okunowo, both Nigerians, had played for the club.
Full Text
An X user, @abazwhyllzz, shared a post (archived here), claiming that La Liga giant Barcelona has signed former Borussia Dortmund winger Karim Adeyemi and that his arrival makes him the first Nigerian to play for the Spanish side.
Karim David Adeyemi has a richly multicultural background. While his father is Nigerian, his mother is Romanian, and he represents the German National team.
The post identifies Adeyemi as Nigerian and celebrates his historic achievement with the club.
“Barcelona have signed Nigerian winger Kareem Adeyemi from Borussia Dortmund. He becomes the first Nigerian to play for Barca,” the X user wrote.
The post has since garnered over 322,100 views, 12,000 likes, 848 comments, and 633 reshares.
Similar posts were made here, here, here, here, and here.
Because the post could misinform the public, DUBAWA fact-checked it.
Verification
DUBAWA ran a keyword search related to the claim, which linked us to Barcelona’s official website. The official Barcelona website describes him as the “11th German player in the club’s history.”
The website also disclosed that Adeyemi was born in Munich, Germany, to a Nigerian father and a Romanian mother. Although his Nigerian heritage makes him eligible to represent Nigeria, he represents Germany internationally.
But is Adeyemi the first Nigerian to play for the Spanish side?
In an article titled “Barça Legends heading back to Africa,” Barcelona lists four Nigerian internationals who have played for the La Liga giant in the past. They include Emmanuel Amunike (1997-2000), Samuel Okunowo (1998-1999), Haruna Babagida (2000-2001), and Elohor Godswill (2014). However, only Amunike and Okunowo have played for the senior team.
Transfermarkt also lists Amunike and Okunowo as the only Nigerian players who have played for Barcelona.
Conclusion
The claim is false. Adeyemi is a German international of Nigerian heritage, while Nigerian players, including Emmanuel Amunike and Samuel Okunowo, had already represented Barcelona before him.