Chukwunonso Azuka Tristan "Noni" Madueke was born 10 March, 2002, in Barnet, North London.
As a child he idolised Cristiano Ronaldo, not only admiring the then Manchester United star but studying his moves, tricks he would then practice at for hours until they became second nature. The budding winger would then delight in showing them off for his school team and each weekend for a local side.
Such dedication to detail soon paid off when a scout spotted him in a tournament, recommending the eight-year-old to Crystal Palace who duly accepted him into their academy.
Twice a week he and his father would make the three-hour round trip through the capital to train. The player has subsequently described that time as ‘tough’.
When Tottenham began to show an interest therefore, Madueke gladly agreed to the switch, a move that was more about geography than anything else.
He remained in North London for six years, juggling his school studies with terrorising young full-backs.
Madueke has stated that doubts began to appear during his latter years at Spurs. Was he good enough to make it?
Seven England caps and a recent £50m move to Arsenal suggests that he is, while he only has to check his bank balance to be reassured of his worth.
How Much Is Noni Madueke Worth?
Unusually for a Premier League star, Madueke has so far refrained from committing to any endorsement deals, paid a nominal sum for wearing Adidas F50 Elite soccer cleats and that’s pretty much it.
Elsewhere, aside from helping friends with their influencer aspirations, he remains a relatively private individual.
His range of expensive cars reveal the exceedingly obvious point that he is rich, but this is not a typically extravagant footballer. Indeed, on moving to Arsenal he relinquished his rental property in West London and moved back in with his parents.
Even so, going off his earnings since breaking through in the Netherlands, along with a bumper signing-on fee received this summer, it is entirely reasonable to pitch his net worth at £3.5m.
Salary
After making a name for himself at PSV Eindhoven, Madueke signed for Chelsea early in 2023, for a fee of £28.5m.
It is not accurately known what his wages were in Holland, but we can safely assume his £50,000 a week at Stamford Bridge was an upgrade, amounting to £2.6m per year.
Yet as much as this constitutes a fortune by normal standards, it still left him trailing in the Chelsea ranks. Back-up goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen earned the same. Peripheral midfielder Kieran Dewsbury-Hall took home £30,000 more each week.
Was this a determining factor in the player agreeing to transfer to the Emirates this summer? When his salary at Arsenal comes to light we can again safely assume he has benefitted from a pay-rise, a weekly income much closer to six figures.
Club career
The football odds on Madueke making it at the highest level increased significantly when PSV offered the raw 16-year-old a three-year contract in 2018. Having excelled at Spurs’ academy the teen had also grabbed the attention of Manchester United.
Instead, a somewhat unconventional route to the top was undertaken, the youth taking his mother and sister to the Netherlands to help him settle.
Naturally enough, given his age, it took the winger a while to make any sort of impact in the Eredivisie, the occasional cameo from the bench the sum total of his first couple of seasons out there.
In 2020/21 however he exploded onto the Dutch scene, scoring seven goals in 24 league appearances. He impressed in the Europa League for good measure.
These performances were enough to lure Chelsea into making a substantial bid, especially when Madueke was handed the number 10 shirt for PSV the following campaign and extended on his fine form.
In January 2023, the Londoner became a Blue, a string of outings from the bench until the season’s end gaining him valuable experience.
Eighteen months into his Chelsea tenure, Madueke had already played under three different managers but it was the arrival of Mauricio Pochettino that really kick-started his Premier League career, trusting the young winger to wreak havoc down the right.
Madueke duly obliged, ending the 2023/24 campaign with four goal involvements in six games, all while establishing himself as Chelsea’s go-to wide threat.
Alas, those goals were not enough to save Pochettino and in came Enzo Maresca, who likewise afforded the player freedom to create and take risks.
The new gaffer was rewarded just two games in when Madueke bagged a hat-trick at Molineux in a 6-2 routing of Wolves.
That set the tone for what was a stand-out season, one that gained him international recognition. Arsenal will be hoping there is much more to come.
England
With his Nigerian heritage, the player was eligible to represent the Super Eagles, right up to making his full England debut in September 2024.
Against Finland at Wembley, the wide-man came on with half an hour remaining, wasting little time in assisting for Harry Kane to wrap up a Nations League win.
Further displays in that competition followed, and though the Three Lions were heavy favourites in the sports betting to top their league, the likes of Greece and Finland still needed to be beaten. A second assist two months later – this time in Athens – ensured that they did.
Though England are very well stocked for attackers, Madueke has cemented a place in the squad, and all in a fairly short period of time. It bodes well for what is to come, with a World Cup on the horizon.
*Credit for the photo in this article belongs to Alamy*
