‘I feel very Nigerian’ – AC Milan star Tomori
2 min read
AC Milan defender Fikayo Tomori says he feels Nigerian owing to his upbringing as a child.
The 23-year-old Canadian-born English footballer opted to represent England at senior level, and to date, he has represented the Three Lions once. The centre-back featured against Kosovo on November 17 during the 2020 Uefa Euro qualifiers.
In a recent interview, the defender went on to explain the meaning of his name and his feelings.
« My name is Nigerian and it means, ‘God has filled me with joy, it is typical in Nigeria to give such names, » Tomori told DAZN as quoted by MilanPress.
« I feel very Nigerian, when I was little my parents spoke to me in the local language and I ate typical Nigerian food. »
The defender is in Serie A with a familiar name from his childhood, fellow Chelsea graduate Tammy Abraham who is currently with AS Roma, and he has explained the relationship between them in Italy.
« I’m happy for Tammy, we talk pretty much every day, » Tomori added.
« When we started playing together at Chelsea we were seven years old and then we made it to the first team. When you grow up that’s where you want to go, but you don’t know if it will happen.
« I remember when I scored my first goal, he made a hat-trick and it was the best day of our life. Mount scored too, it was crazy. It all started from there. »
Having played four matches so far this season, the England international discusses life in Italy.
« Now I feel great at Milan. Obviously, Chelsea have been a huge part of my life for 15 or 16 years.
« I managed to make my dreams come true: I played at Stamford Bridge, I played in the Premier League and Champions League, I made my debut with the English national team.
« Now I am very happy at Milan and I am happy with what we are doing. Now we are finally also in the Champions League and maybe we can even win it like Chelsea did. »
