22 Facts About Wanyama

Victor Mugubi Wanyama is a Kenyan professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Major League Soccer club CF Montreal.

Wanyama earned over 60 caps for the Kenyan national team since making his international debut in May 2007 at age 15.

Wanyama attended Kamukunji High School, which fields a successful football team.

Wanyama scored his first goal for Beerschot on 11 December 2010, a 77th-minute equaliser against Westerlo.

On 9 July 2011, Wanyama finally completed a £900,000 move to Celtic, after the Scottish club had failed to sign him the previous year.

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Wanyama signed a four-year contract and in doing so became the first ever Kenyan to play in the SPL.

Wanyama chose 67 as his squad number to honour the Lisbon Lions, Celtic's 1967 European Cup-winning team.

Wanyama played in central defence rather than his favoured central midfield role.

On 20 October 2012, Wanyama scored twice against St Mirren at St Mirren Park, the second of which was a half volley from 25 yards out.

Wanyama made 24 appearances in his first season, but injuries hindered his efforts to make much of an impact in the team.

On 23 June 2016, Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur announced that they had reached an agreement with Southampton for the transfer of Wanyama, signing a five-year contract for a fee of £11 million.

Wanyama had previously worked with Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino who brought him to Southampton in July 2013.

Wanyama made his first start of the season two months later in the EFL Cup game against Watford that Spurs won on penalties.

On 11 March 2020, Wanyama made his competitive debut for Montreal at Stade Olympique in the first leg of a quarterfinal in the CONCACAF Champions League, where he was named in manager Thierry Henry's starting side.

Wanyama made his debut for the Kenyan national team in May 2007, aged just 15 in a friendly against Nigeria.

Wanyama played in all six of Kenya's 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

Wanyama represented the national team at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.

Wanyama announced his retirement from international football in September 2021, marking the end of his 14-year international duty.

Wanyama's brother McDonald Mariga was a professional footballer, while his other brothers Thomas and Sylvester Wanyama are footballers in the Kenyan Premier League.

Wanyama's father, Noah Wanyama, was a footballer for A FC Leopards in the 1980s, and his sister Mercy is a professional basketball player in the USA.

Wanyama is managed by ExtraTime, and has a boot sponsorship deal with Adidas.

In 2015, Wanyama participated in the production of a short film about football in Kenya called Mdudu Boy, written and directed by actress Ella Smith.