Ibrahim Danda Rabiu (born 15 March 1991) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder.
Club career Sporting CP Rabiu was born in Kano. In summer 2007, he signed for Sporting CP for €450,000, in a joint ownership agreement with his previous club Gateway FC. Shortly afterwards, it was reported that Premier League sides Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United, and Arsenal; Football Press, 7 October 2007 were interested in signing him,Fergie chases Rabiu ; Daily Mirror, 20 September 2007Papers: Boss eyes whizz-kid; Manchester United, 20 September 2007 but nothing came of it.
In late 2007, Rabiu was included by World Soccer in its 50 Most Exciting Teen Footballers listTop 50 Most Exciting Teen Footballers (2007); Soccer Lens, 29 November 2007 and, in March of the following year, he was featured by InsideFutbol.com in an article on young African footballers including Emmanuel Adebayor, Mario Balotelli and Mikel John Obi.African players with eyes on world domination; Inside Futbol, March 2008 In January 2009, he appeared in Goal.com's list of 10 African Players to Watch,Ten African players to watch in 2009; Goal, 1 January 2009 and The Times' Football's Top 50 Rising Stars.Football's top 50 rising stars; The Times, 12 January 2009
Rabiu participated in the 2008 Bellinzona Under-19 International Tournament with Sporting, with the Portuguese eventually winning the trophy. In the competition, in which he was eventually voted as the best player, he was deployed as a classic number 10 in a 4–2–3–1 system; one year later, he again led the Lisbon team to the final stage of the same tournament.PSV set to help Ibrahim Rabiu out of the wilderness; Inside Futbol, 10 March 2011
In October 2009, Rabiu twice rejected an offer of a professional contract,Nigeria's Rabiu Ibrahim rejects Sporting CP's pro deal; Goal, 4 October 2009 and was at that time sent on loan to Real S.C. in the third division. In January 2010 he drew interest from Scottish Premier League's Celtic,Celtic interested in the African Messi ; BBC, January 2010 but the deal never materialised due to undisclosed reasons believed to involve work permit issues.Rabiu Ibrahim – 19-year-old starlet tracked by Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United currently a free agent; IM Scouting, 11 December 2010
In 2010, Rabiu left Sporting as a free agent. Subsequently, Dutch side VVV-Venlo tried to sign him in partnership with a United Kingdom-based consortium, but the negotiations broke down due to financial issues.Rabiu Ibrahims Dutch move fails ; African Football, 15 August 2010 In December, shortly after Damien Comolli was appointed director of football at Anfield, the player was again linked to Liverpool.Liverpool wonderkid target now available on free ; Give Me Football, 11 December 2010
PSV In January 2011, Rabiu went on trial with Eerste Divisie club Telstar through an investment group.Telstar contracteert supertalent Ibrahim Rabiu (19) (ex-Sporting Lissabon) (Telstar sign super talent Ibrahim Rabiu (19) (ex-Sporting Lisbon)); Voetbal Tube, 31 January 2011 (in Dutch), archived from the original After performing well in a friendly against PSV Eindhoven and later being described as one of the best players in the match by the team's coach,Telstar hoopt na de winter het Nigeriaanse duo te krijgen (Telstar hope to get Nigerian duo after the winter); Voetbal International, 12 January 2011 (in Dutch) he was quickly offered a contract, pending a valid work permit from the Royal Dutch Football Association.Trots Telstar: 'Dit is dé Rabiu Ibrahim' (Proud Telstar: "This is Rabiu Ibrahim"); Voetbal Primeur, 31 January 2011 (in Dutch)
However, Telstar could not afford to sign Rabiu even with the help of private investors.Rabiu on trials at PSV ; MTN Football, 4 March 2011 Subsequently, he went on trial with PSV, scoring twice in a 2–0 win against their reserves in a practice match – the first team's coach, Fred Rutten, said: "Ibrahim is fast, technically skilled, physically strong and has a good sense of field position, there is something in that boy";PSV wil Nigeriaan Ibrahim vastleggen (PSV want to capture Nigerian Ibrahim); Eindhovens Dagblad, 4 March 2011 (in Dutch) on 11 March 2011, he agreed to a deal at the Eredivisie side.PSV legt transfervrije stagiair Ibrahim lang vast (PSV capture transfer-free intern Ibrahim for a long time); Voetbal International, 11 March 2011 (in Dutch)
In December 2011, Rabiu's agent reached a mutual agreement with PSV to terminate the player's contract, because of limited first-team action.PSV en jeugdinternational Ibrahim alweer uit elkaar; Soccer News, 26 December 2011
Celtic On 18 January 2012, Celtic announced that, after a successful trial period, they had agreed terms to sign Rabiu on a three-and-a-half-year deal, pending a work permit application which was granted five days later. He revealed that he turned down a move to clubs in England and Germany to join the Glasgow team, believing it could help him restore his reputation.
Rabiu made his debut on 3 May 2012, coming on as a 74th-minute substitute in a 1–0 home victory over St Johnstone: his cross gave Gary Hooper the chance to score, but he was offside.
Kilmarnock On 2 January 2013, Kilmarnock manager Kenny Shiels confirmed that Rabiu had signed a two-year contract with the club on a free transfer. The 21-year-old decided to move to Rugby Park in search of regular first-team football; he also stated that his choice was due to his new team having a similar style to that of FC Barcelona, whilst Shiels said that the move was good for the player's career and that he would attempt to 'get inside his head' to help him find his form.
Rabiu made his debut for the East Ayrshire team two weeks after signing, coming on as a substitute for Paul Heffernan in a goalless draw against Dundee United. He finished his first season with only six appearances.
On 19 October 2013, Rabiu collapsed in the first half of a league fixture against Ross County and was taken to the nearby University Hospital Crosshouse. The following January, both he and his compatriot Reuben Gabriel were released.
International career Rabiu was a member of the Nigerian under-17 team in the 2007 FIFA World Cup in South Korea, scoring in the first match against France as the nation went on to win the competition. Before the tournament, he had been dubbed "the new Jay-Jay Okocha",Nigeria (NGA); at FIFA and helped the side win that year's Africa U-17 Cup of Nations held in Togo, scoring twice against Eritrea in the group stage (8–0).African U17 round-up; BBC Sport, 11 March 2007
Aged 16, Rabiu was included in the senior squad by German coach Berti Vogts for the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations,Anichebe out of Nigeria squad; Sky Sports, 11 December 2007 with his under-17 teammate Haruna Lukman.Vogts dumps Anichebe – Picks Haruna Lukman, Rabiu Ibrahim; All Africa, 12 December 2007 However, a groin injury prevented him from participating in the tournament.Rabiu gets Super Eagles recall; All Africa, 23 September 2009
In 2009, Rabiu helped Nigeria to win bronze in the African Youth Championship in Rwanda, netting against Ivory Coast and South Africa,Nigeria, South Africa into AYC semis; BBC Sport, 24 January 2009Ghana win African Youth Champs; BBC Sport, 1 February 2009 with the national team securing a place in that year's FIFA U-20 World Cup where he appeared in three matches, scoring against Germany in the 2–3 round-of-16 loss; in addition to his six goals in the youth levels, he also provided many assists.
In the following years, Rabiu continued to be closely watched by the Nigerian senior coaches, with Samson Siasia claiming in the media in April 2010 that he was one of only two players who could solve the country's attacking midfield problems.Nigeria coach Shuaibu Amodu tips Rabiu Ibrahim for glory; Goal, 10 August 2009Siasia makes case for Rabiu Ibrahim; Africa Plays, 21 April 2010 Siasia was appointed in November 2010Samson Siasia is appointed Nigeria's new coach; BBC Sport, 4 November 2010 and the player was called up to his first camp ahead of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, but the manager in charge was now Stephen Keshi.
Rabiu earned his first full cap on 13 June 2015, playing for 32 minutes in a 2–0 home win over Chad in Kaduna for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
Personal life Rabiu is a practising Muslim.
Career statistics
ClubSeasonLeagueCupLeague CupEuropeTotalAppGoalsAssistsAppGoalsAssistsAppGoalsAssistsAppGoalsAssistsAppGoalsAssistsPSV2011–12200211––411Total200211––411Celtic2011–12100000000–1002012–13000100000–100Total100100000–200Kilmarnock2012–13601000000–6012013–141001000100–1101Total1602000100–1702Trenčín2014–151741410––21512015–162657510–20033672016–17310000–400710Total46108920–60061128Gent2016–17400100–300800Total400100–300800Slovan Bratislava2017–18800000–000800Total800000–000800Career Total75101013311009001091311
Honours PSV KNVB Cup: 2011–12
Celtic Scottish Cup: 2012–13
Trenčín Slovak Super Liga: 2014–15, 2015–16 Slovak Cup: 2014–15, 2015–16
Slovan Bratislava Slovak Super Liga: 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22 Slovak Cup: 2019–20, 2020–21
Nigeria FIFA U-17 World Cup: 2007 African U-17 Championship: 2007 African Youth Championship bronze medal: 2009
Individual Slovak Super Liga Team of the Season: 2021–22
References
External links AS Trenčín official profile