Tijjani Reijnders: Netherlands And AC Milan Star Reveals The Origin Of His Nigerian Name

Tijjani Martinus Jan Reijnders, a midfielder for AC Milan and the Netherlands, has shared the meaning behind his traditional Nigerian name.

For £14 million, the 25-year-old midfielder left Dutch Eredivisie team AZ Alkmaar to join the seven-time UEFA Champions League winner, AC Milan.

Along with Christian Pulisic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Noah Okafor, and Samuel Chukwueze, Reijnders was a part of the summer transfers brought in to strengthen AC Milan.

As the central midfield player rose to prominence in Italy, his first name, “Tijjani,” raised concerns among supporters, as many wondered if he was of African descent.

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The Yoruba tribe, which is in the southwest of Nigeria, makes up a sizable majority of the population in West African countries that go by the name “Tijanni,” which is typically an Islamic name.

The Milan midfielder was raised in a family of football players; his father, Martin Reijnders, spent twenty years as a player for eight different clubs. Before retiring in 2009, he played in the Dutch league primarily as a center-forward.

According to Tijjani, his parents decided to give their son the Nigerian’s first name because they were impressed by the former Super Eagles right-winger’s flare while he was at Ajax.

“There was a football player from Ajax and his name was Tijani Babangida. My parents liked his first name, so now, it’s me,” the 1.85m tall defender said in a video posted by the official Super Eagles X account.

Tijani Babangida played for Ajax Amsterdam for three and a half seasons, winning the League Cup twice and the Eredivisie once. He also scored an impressive 49 goals in 175 games during that time.

Babangida was renowned for his lightning-fast speed, and his exploits cemented his reputation as a football legend and gave rise to the present AC Milan player.