Maxi Oyedele’s Football Journey Abroad Continues at Strasbourg

Let’s begin at the beginning: Oyedele was born in Salford, Greater Manchester, to a Polish mother and a Nigerian father. Moreover, the midfielder’s youth career had a brief stint with Burnley before finding a home with Manchester United, where he’d spend the next 11 years.

Eventually though, Oyedele needed to leave his boyhood club to garner minutes as a professional footballer, and this journey took him back to his roots, Poland. After loan stints with Altrincham and Forest Green Rovers, he joined Polish side Legia Warsaw.

In an interview with The Guardian, Oyedele spoke about doing the opposite of what his mom did when she left Poland for England.

“It’s just funny for my mum because she left Poland to come to England and make a life; I left England to go to Poland to start my journey. Legia was the biggest opportunity. I don’t even think I realised how big of an opportunity it was when I heard about it.”

“I felt like this was the opportunity to play in Europe, the biggest team in Poland. It’s my nationality, so it’s close to the national team. It’s always a risk to leave it, but it just seemed like the best choice.”

During his time with Legia Warsaw, the 20-year-old made 24 total appearances, recording one assist and winning the Polish Cup. After one season in Poland, Oyedele moved to Ligue 1 McDonald’s as he joined RC Strasbourg this summer.

Instead of using his experience in Poland to jump back to a club in England, Oyedele, in the same interview with The Guardian, spoke about beginning his development as a professional footballer abroad rather than in his home country.

“I always thought I would love to leave and start a new journey abroad. I couldn’t afford to waste another year playing academy football. I could have stayed in England and continued my journey and who knows what would have happened.”

Oyedele is taking the next step in his career with Strasbourg, aiming to make a strong impression and help the team push for Champions League qualification after missing out last season.

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