More facts have emerged in the line of thoughts and factors that accounted for a decision by Chelsea of England midfielder, Ross Barkley to launch a hunt around for his Nigerian father, as the former Everton dazzler wants to finally put an end to speculation about his ancestral roots, megasportsarena.com reports.
All along Barkley has been touted as a Nigerian-born player only through his grandfather’s lineage, but fresh information emerged last month indicating that his father was actually born in the highly populated West African country that has a rich history of football data and heroics..
The story holds that Barkley’s father is officially named Patrick Effanga, but his son, who is now a full-fledged England internationally decided to use his mother’s maiden name because his dad left them when he was only a year old.
Additional feelers that emerged soon after news emerged about the player’s inquest, a message emerged from the south-south region of Nigeria that Barley’s father hails from somewhere in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.
Born December 5, 1993, Barkley began his professional career at Everton in 2010, after which he had spells on loan at Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds United, before returning to Goodison Park and went on to get a total of 179 games and 27 goals for The Toffees.
Barkley started his international career with England at under-15 level, and was selected to play in the 2009 Montaigu Tournament, in which he captained the team to success, beating Germany 2–1 on penalties in the final.
The soft-spoken yet socially controversial lad also helped England win the 2010 UEFA European U-17 Championship with two goals en route to the final where England beat Spain 2–1, after which he was called up to England’s under-21 squad in August 2011.
The crew-hair-cut dazzler, who joined Chelsea in 2018, the same year he helped them win the English FA Cup and then the UEFA Europa League in 2019, made his international debut for England in 2013, then played at the 2014 FIFA World Cup but he did not play any of the matches at the 2016 European Championship, although he was in The Three Lions’ squad under Roy Hodgson.
He debuted at the FIFA U-20 World Cup on June 16, 2013, then scored his first goal for England’s under-21s on August 13, 2013, in a 6–0 win against Scotland, after which Barkley was called up to the senior squad in August 2013 and got his first cap the following month, as a substitute for Jack Wilshere in a 4–0 spanking of Moldova in a World Cup qualifier at Wembley.
The Chelsea star, though, has never had the pleasure of seeing his father since the man left his mother years ago, but Barkley has now expressed a strong desire to meet his pop, to mend fences and get to the root in details about his ancestral origin.
However, it is unlikely that there could be a change of identity for Barkley, who was born and raised in England, for which he now plays at full international level bearing his maternal tag instead of the surname of his father, who was a construction worker with British Railway.
In other personal matters, the injury-prone midfielder has been in a long standing relationship with his childhood heartthrob, Zoe Riozzi, a nursery school worker, with whom he grew up together on the same side of the town and currently lives near Wavertree in Liverpool.
They were on a vacation to Buckingham Palace and Dubai some years back, as the lad, who has a height of 1.6m and Zodiac Sign is Capricorn, flaunted a little of his estimated net worth over $7m, and reportedly earns £90,000 weekly at Chelsea, with $4,680,000 per annum.
While playing for Everton, he had an annual salary of $5.2m including bonus, with $75,000 and more from endorsements in a week, while his current market value is €25m, which he now appears eager to allow his estranged father reap a little out of in the man’s advancing age.
A source close to the 25-year-old former Everton dazzler disclosed: “There’s one thing he wishes to do and that is meeting his father who is a Nigerian but left his mother when he was very young and hasn’t seen him since then.”
Dramatically, it was first in October 2013, as a 19-year-old, that Barkley first made an inference to ha family background, as he thanked his mother, Diane, for encouraging him to excel during his days with Everton, as she always boosted him with great predictions before each game.
While nothing much is said about his father nowadays, Barkley recounted how his mum set him the right path of his career with sound advice and inspiration, as she once predicted that he would score against Newcastle United, and her prophecy came to pass when he struck after 25 minutes of the game at Goodison Park, for his first goal with The Toffees.
There is also contrasting information about the role played in development of his career by his father, who was also a time working as an automobile engineer with Getrag Ford Transmission plant in Liverpool, Barkley is quick to recollect support he gained from his mother, who was at that point a housewife, but ensure he got the best of life as an only child.
Barkley said about his first ever goal in the EPL, during his days with Everton, back in 2013: “I knew it was coming. My mum said before the game she had a feeling I’d score and I’m made up she was right. I was over the moon because I’ve dreamt about that moment since I was a kid.”
Back to the beginning, Ross started to play football more seriously when he was nine years old, as he joined Ash Celtic Youth Club in the Belle Vale League, during which he stood out with his precocious development, amazing power and remarkable ball handling technique.
He was only 11 when Everton’s top scout, Sid Benson, noticed the rising star’s talent, and that marked the beginning of his progress through the ranks at the youth academy of Goodison Park, in the Netherton area of Liverpool … and the rest is history ….
Barkley submitted: “I joined Everton when I was 11. I realized when I got the opportunity to play there. And it helped me to believe in myself. ”
