1. Funso-King Ayorinde Ojo was born on 28 August 1991 and is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for EFL League One club Shrewsbury Town, on loan from EFL League Two club Port Vale.
35 Facts About Funso Ojo
1. 2.
Funso Ojo joined his hometown club Royal Antwerp in August 2013 and signed with Dutch Eerste Divisie side FC Dordrecht in February 2014.
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Funso Ojo spent two seasons with the club, making 60 top-flight appearances, before he moved to England to play for Scunthorpe United in July 2017.
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Funso Ojo returned to England permanently after joining Port Vale on a free transfer in June 2022.
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Funso-King Ayorinde Ojo was born in Antwerp on 28 August 1991 to parents of Nigerian origin.
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Funso Ojo made his debut for the first-team at the age of 15, when head coach Ronald Koeman played him in a friendly against amateur side HVCH on 19 May 2007.
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Funso Ojo played his first Eredivisie match for PSV on 5 May 2009 against Willem II.
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Funso Ojo signed a contract extension four months later, which would keep him at the Philips Stadion until summer 2010, after he impressed manager Fred Rutten.
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On 16 April 2012, Funso Ojo rejoined Belgian Pro League club Beerschot AC on a free transfer, signing a four-year contract.
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Funso Ojo became a free agent after the club entered bankruptcy in May 2013; he came close to joining Italian club Chievo, though the deal did not end up being completed.
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Funso Ojo claimed that Mathijssen "did everything to break me down and blacken me and it worked".
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On 29 August 2013, Funso Ojo signed a two-year contract with Belgian Second Division club Royal Antwerp after impressing manager Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink during a trial spell.
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Funso Ojo returned to the Netherlands and joined Eerste Divisie side FC Dordrecht.
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Funso Ojo signed a new one-year contract in June 2014.
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Funso Ojo had struggled with his ankle injury since the start of the campaign, which would prove to be a poor one for the club as Ernie Brandts's side would go on to be relegated out of the Eredivisie after finishing in last place.
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Funso Ojo remained in the Eredivisie after signing with Willem II.
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Funso Ojo turned down the offer of a new contract and instead decided to move on.
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On 18 July 2017, Funso Ojo signed a three-year contract with English League One club Scunthorpe United.
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Funso Ojo came close to a move to Wigan Athletic, though Wigan and Scunthorpe failed to come to a deal.
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Funso Ojo was linked with a transfer to Scottish club Hibernian in June 2019.
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Hibernian manager Paul Heckingbottom stated that Funso Ojo could leave Scunthorpe on a free transfer after they were relegated to League Two, but the proposed transfer collapsed after Heckingbottom claimed Scunthorpe "changed their mind, backtracked and made it really difficult".
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Funso Ojo moved to Aberdeen, signing a three-year contract with the club.
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Funso Ojo said that "we talked about football and other things and he [McInnes] touched something in me", adding that the city, state-of-the-art training ground and prospect of European football had convinced him to go with Aberdeen.
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Funso Ojo made 23 appearances for Leam Richardson's "Latics", helping the club to finish one point above the relegation zone.
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However, Funso Ojo considered seeing out his contract with Aberdeen and then retiring from the game and returning to Belgium.
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On 28 June 2022, Ojo joined English League One club Port Vale, with director of football David Flitcroft stating that: "we think that Funso is the type of player that can conduct and orchestrate them [his teammates] on the pitch".
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Funso Ojo signed a new contract the following month which would keep him at the club until June 2026.
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Funso Ojo was injured the following month as a hamstring injury saw him sidelined for several weeks.
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On 30 August 2024, Funso Ojo returned to League One on a season-long loan at Shrewsbury Town.
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Funso Ojo had briefly worked with Shrews manager Paul Hurst at Scunthorpe.
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Funso Ojo said that he preferred the style of football played by the third manager of his loan spell, Michael Appleton, most of all.
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Funso Ojo was capped by Belgium from under-15 to under-21 level, winning his first and only under-21 cap as a late substitute in a Iceland on 1 September 2011.
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Funso Ojo is a versatile midfielder who links defence and attack by winning the ball and passing it on to more creative teammates.
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Funso Ojo is a trained physical instructor and is involved in real estate.
35.
Funso Ojo entered a not-guilty plea to a charge of assault for an incident that took place following a Scottish Premiership match at Tannadice Park in November 2021.