Desire Oparanozie's salary, net worth, stats, and is she married?

Desire Oparanozie's salary, net worth, stats, and is she married?

Helix Odhiambo
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:15 PM

Desire Oparanozie is a Nigerian footballer with many years of experience. She plays as a forward for Wuhan Jianghan University in the Chinese Women's Super League and the Nigerian national team. Since moving to Europe, Desire Oparanozie's salary and net worth have increased significantly. She has also won multiple awards and titles with her teams.

Desire Oparanozie's pictures
Guingamp's forward Desire Oparanozie runs with the ball during a French women's match against Paris Saint-Germain on 4th May 2019, at the EA Guingamp's Training Center. Photo: Jean-Francois Monier
Source: Getty Images

Oparanozie is known for her fast pace and strong physic that have propelled her to become a great striker. Over the years, she has risen and played for numerous European clubs, including Wolfsburg, Guingamp, and Dijon. Her life journey has inspired many young female footballers to believe in their dreams.

Desire Oparanozie's profile

Full name

Ugochi Desire Oparanozie

Date of birth

17 December 1993

Age

28 (as of October 2022)

Place of birth

Owerri, Nigeria

Nationality

Nigerian

Height

1.65 m

Father

Krasimir Stoyanov

Sister

Evelyn Nwabuoku

Spouse

Velislav Rusev

Profession

Footballer

Position

Striker

Current teams

Wuhan Jianghan University, Nigeria national football team

Net worth

$1.5 million

Social media

Instagram, Twitter

Biography

Oparanozie grew up in Owerri, Nigeria, where she developed an interest in football. She has a sister called Evelyn Nwabuoku, who is also a footballer. Evelyn is a midfielder and has played for BIIK Kazygurt, Östersunds DFF, and Guingamp.

Exciting feature: Check out news exactly for YOU ➡️ find "Recommended for you" block and enjoy!

Is Desire Oparanozie married?

According to various sources, the former Super Falcon skipper is married. Desire Oparanozie's husband is called Velislav Rusev, but not much is known about him. Meanwhile, Velislav and her spouse do not have a child yet.

Desire Oparanozie's stats

Desire Oparanozie's salary
Desire Oparanozie of Dijon FCO celebrates after scoring against Montpellier during the D1 Arkema match at Stade des Poussots on 14th November 2020, in Dijon, France. Photo: Vincent Poyer
Source: Getty Images

The Owerri-born forward has enjoyed an amazing football career in several countries like Turkey, Germany, Russia, France, and China. She began her career at Bayelsa Queens in the Nigerian Women's Championship before joining Delta Queens in 2010. She then spent two months on loan at Düvenciler Lisesispor in the Turkish Women's First Football League in 2011.

After the loan spell, Desire returned to Delta Queens. However, she left again to join Rossiyanka in the Russian Women's Football Championship in 2012. She played four games at the 2012-13 UEFA Women's Champions League and scored one goal.

Desire Oparanozie's net worth
Desire Oparanozie of Guingamp during the Division 1 match against Paris Saint Germain on 3rd November 2019, in Paris, France. Photo: Michel Brisset
Source: Getty Images

In 2013, Oparanozie moved to Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg ahead of the 2013-14 season. She penned a two-year contract with the club. However, she did not stay long and moved to Ataşehir Belediyespor in the Turkish Women's First Football League on 21st February 2014.

Desire's football journey later landed her in France, where she joined Guingamp of the French Division 1 Féminine ahead of the 2014-15 season. Her sister, Evelyn Nwabuoku, also joined her at Guingamp.

Oparanze was named Guingamp's captain ahead of the 2019-20 season. She led the club to victory in their first game of the season against Metz. In June 2020, the Nigerian striker penned a 2-year deal with Dijon FCO after spending six years at Guingamp.

The talented forward left Dijon on 31st March 2022 to join Wuhan Jianghan University in the Chinese Women's Super League. She made her debut for the club against Shanghai Shengli on 23rd July 2022.

Desire also won her first club title in July 2022 since leaving her homeland to play overseas. She won the Chinese Cup with Wuhan after beating Beijing Women 3-0 in the final.

International career

Desire Oparanozie's profile
Desire Oparanozie of the Nigerian national women's team passes the ball during a World Cup game against Korea Republic at Stade des Alpes on 12th June 2019 in Grenoble, France. Photo: Andrew Katsampes
Source: Getty Images

The forward played her junior international career for Nigeria's U-20 side. She scored two goals for the team in the 2010 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup and three in the 2012 tournament. Desire earned a promotion to the senior team in 2010. Since then, she has represented her nation at three FIFA Women's World Cup tournaments (2011, 2015, 2019).

Oparanozie also played at four Africa Women's Championships (WAFCON). She scored crucial goals that helped the Super Falcons win three titles. However, she missed the 2022 WAFCON tournament in Morocco, where Nigeria finished fourth. Desire also played alongside her sister, Evelyn. Both have once served as captains of the national team.

Honours and titles

Besides winning the Chinese Cup with her club, Oparanozie bagged numerous trophies with the Super Falcons, which include:

  • African Women's Championship (3) - 2010, 2014, 2016, 2018
  • 2014 African Women's Championship: Golden Boot
  • Nigerian Women's Championship (2) - 2011, 2012

What is Desire Oparanozie's salary?

Desire Oparanozie's latest news
D. Oparanozie of Nigeria shows her appreciation to the fans after the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup R16 match against Germany at Stade des Alpes on 22nd June 2019 in Grenoble, France. Photo: Naomi Baker
Source: Getty Images

Although her salary details are not revealed, the Nigerian star is believed to earn a decent amount in China. She has previously fought for equal pay of salaries and bonuses for both genders in football. In June 2020, the striker lent her support to Nigeria Women's Professional Football League, which demanded clubs pay female players' salaries.

"I am all against non-payment of players, not just players but across all works of life. This is an appeal to all government and private organisations to please do the needful. It's called payment of service rendered and should be mandatory." Oparanozie wrote on Twitter.

Desire Oparanozie's net worth

The China-based forward has an estimated net worth of $1.5 million from her glittering soccer career. She is one of the most successful African female footballers, alongside Asisat Oshoala of Barcelona.

Desire Oparanozie's foundation

Besides playing football, the former Nigerian captain empowers the youth and the girl child through her Desire Oparanozie Foundation (DOF). It is a charitable Non-Governmental Organization that targets the girl child by supporting them to achieve their dreams in sports and other fields. DOF has also partnered with several entities, including Team Nigeria UK, to provide healthcare services to girls in various schools in Nigeria.

Desire Oparanozie's Instagram account

The footballer is also active on social media and has verified accounts on Instagram and Twitter, where she connects with fans. You can access the latest Desire Oparanozie pictures on her Instagram, which has 92.3k followers as of October 2022. On Twitter, she has 39k followers.

Desire Oparanozie's latest news

Oparanozie rarely makes headlines despite being a great striker. She has avoided getting into controversies and problems but concentrates on her career. One of the recently talked about Desire Oparanozie news was her omission from Nigeria's squad in the 2020 women's AFCON. Later, the striker explained that it was due to 'border restrictions' issues that barred her from joining the squad in Morocco.

Desire Oparanozie's salary may not be equivalent to what male strikers in China earn, but her talent is unquestionable. She is a role model to many young girls with dreams of being successful in life.

READ ALSO: Who is Karim Benzema's girlfriend, Jordan Ozuna?: Age, career, Instagram

Sportsbrief.com recently revealed details of Karim Benzema's girlfriend, Jordan Ozuna. She is an American model who worked as a waitress in Las Vegas. Ozuna was born on 1st January 1990, in Maryland, the United States of America.

Jordan rose to fame in 2016 following her appearance as one of the models at Kanye West's Yeezy Season 3 fashion. Read more about the American model and her relationship with the 2022 Balon D'Or winner by clicking on the link above.

Authors
Helix Odhiambo photo
Helix Odhiambo
Helix Odhiambo is an award-winning Kenyan journalist and content creator with over 6 years of experience. In 2016, he won the Goal Blaze Correspondent Award for young writers.