Michael Olunga, well knowns as Engineer Michael Olunga Ogada is a Kenyan footballer currently playing for Al-Duhail, a Qatar-based club. The super striker also plays for the Kenya National Team, serving as the captain.
Engineer Ogada is among the few talented footballers living their football dream in Kenya. Despite having great players in the country, very few make it through their football careers and end up playing for local clubs that don’t pay much.
Olunga has established his reputation in both local and international fields. In our feature, we focus on the transformation from liberty football academy in Nairobi to Al-Duhail one of the biggest clubs in Qatar.
Michael Olunga Age and Place of Birth
Olunga was born on March 26th, 1994. The talented player was born and raised in Lucky Summer estate, Nairobi, Kenya.
Educational Background
The football genius attended Upper Hill Secondary School before joining the Technical University of Kenya where he pursued a Bachelor of Engineering. This earned him the title of “Engineer”
Career
Early Career
His passion for the game started when he was still young but his professional journey began when he was in high school. He first joined Liberty Sports Academy in Nairobi where he was well molded to international levels.
His stint at the academy was historic as he scored 32 goals in a single season, helping the team finish the season unbeaten on top of that, the team earned a promotion to the Nairobi Provincial League.
Senior Career
Following his impressive performance Olunga it was reportedly that Olunga was attending trials in France but he later signed with Tusker FC, one of the top-flight clubs in Kenya.
His stint at Tusker FC was a short one as he only scored only two goals before he was loaned to Thika United where he also played for one season. He then moved to Gor Mahia where he finished the 2015 season as the club’s tops scorer with 19 goals, helping the club earn their 15th title.
In 2016, Olunga landed a spot in Sweden joining Swedish side Djurgardens IF on a four-year contract deal. His first season with the club was a success receiving praise from his coach for his win and also entered the top five scorers of the season.
Despite signing a four-year contract deal with the Swedish club, Olunga moved to China after one season signing a deal with Guizhou Zhicheng where he didn’t spend much time as he was sent on loan to Girona FC, a La Liga club in September 2017.
Olunga went on to make history on his debut at Giron as he scored a hat-trick in the 22nd minute, becoming the first Kenyan to score a hat-trick in La Liga in a 6-0 win against Las Palmas.
After his loan tenure, Olunga never returned to China as he joined a Japanese club, Kashiwa Reysol on August 10th, 2018. This is where he established his name worldwide. In October 2019, he broke the record after he scored eight goals in a single match and went on to finish the season with 27 goals. On top of that, he helped the team earn a to the first division.
He finished the 2020 season as the J1 top scorer with 28 goals earning himself a golden boot and the J-League 2020 MVP, becoming the first African to win the award. In 2021, he landed a deal with Al-Duhail, signing a three-year contract with the club which was reported to be over €6 million.
Two years down the line he helped his club secure the title of the Qatar Stars League, scoring four goals in the finals game against Al-Shamal. He is currently, one of the most rated Kenyan players.
Michael Olunga Girlfriend
Much is not known about his love life, but reports show he’s engaged to a gorgeous Kenyan lady.
Michael Olunga Salary and Net Worth
His current market value stands at €9.00m which is over Ksh 1 billion. His estimated salary stands at Ksh 16 million a month. His net worth can be valued at Ksh 700 million and above.
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