Marvin Park is the only player with Nigerian roots to have played for Real Madrid's first team in an official match. The son of a Nigerian father, he came on for Rodrygo in the 70th minute of a goalless La Liga draw at Real Sociedad on 20 September 2020.

No Nigeria international has done it. Soccernet reported as recently as April 2026 that a senior competitive appearance for Madrid is still missing from the Super Eagles' record books, so in October 2026 the answer to the question many Nigerian fans keep typing remains one name, with a large asterisk attached.

Marvin Park	At a glance
Full name	Marvin Olawale Akinlabi Park
Born	3 July 2000, Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Heritage	Nigerian father, South Korean mother
Real Madrid debut	20 September 2020, Real Sociedad 0 Real Madrid 0
First team games	4, all in 2020/21
Country	Spain, one U19 cap in January 2019
Current club	UD Las Palmas, LaLiga2, contract to June 2028

Why the asterisk matters

Park was born and raised in Spain.

He has never represented Nigeria at any level. His only international outing came for Spain's under-19 side, a 3-0 friendly defeat by Italy on 16 January 2019. Goal reported at the time of his Madrid debut that three countries had shown interest in him. He chose Spain. It stuck.

So the precise answer depends on how the question is framed. A Nigerian citizen or Super Eagles player in an official first team match for Los Blancos? None so far. A player of Nigerian descent? Park, and only Park.

From Tranmere to Valdebebas

His route was unusual. After starting at Sporting Ciutat de Palma, he spent three years in the youth set up of English club Tranmere Rovers from 2009 before returning to Mallorca, then moved through La Salle and Penya Arrabal until Real Madrid signed him in 2016.

He made his Castilla debut on 25 August 2019 against Las Rozas and went on to play 59 times for the reserves, scoring four goals. That same 2019/20 season he was part of the Madrid side that won the UEFA Youth League.

The senior call came from Zinedine Zidane early in 2020/21. After the San Sebastián cameo, Park posted on Instagram: “Unforgettable day! Very happy for the debut with @realmadrid in the league. Time to keep working and learning,” as quoted by Goal.

His first start followed on 9 February 2021, a 2-0 home win over Getafe at the Alfredo Di Stéfano stadium, Channels Television reported. Those four league outings in 2020/21 were the sum of his first team career at the club. That was it.

Las Palmas years

Madrid loaned him to Las Palmas in August 2022.

He scored his first professional goal on 22 August that year in a 4-0 win at Málaga. Twenty four league games later, the Canary Islands club were back in La Liga. A second loan with an option to buy followed in August 2023. On 20 June 2024 Las Palmas exercised it, tying him down for four seasons, RTVC reported.

Las Palmas finished 19th in 2024/25. They went down. Park, now used mainly at right back, stayed, and last June he set up Jesé Rodríguez's second minute opener in the promotion play-off semi-final second leg at La Rosaleda, but Málaga drew 1-1 and went through 2-1 on aggregate. He remains a Las Palmas player in LaLiga2 this season, with FotMob listing his contract as running to June 2028.

The Nigerians who came close

Long before Park, Madrid had Nigerians on the books. Neither broke through.

Mutiu Adepoju arrived in 1989 and scored 27 goals in 67 games for the reserve side. He never got a first team appearance and joined Racing Santander in 1992. Christopher Ohen was at Castilla in the same era, with nine goals in 26 matches between 1989 and 1991, and he too stayed at reserve level.

Adepoju told Soccernet in April 2026 that a Hugo Sánchez injury nearly opened the door. The foreign player quota and then a shoulder problem closed it. “They could only have four foreigners signed in the team, and they already had four,” he said.

More recently, centre back Marvel, who has Nigerian roots, was called up to first team training under Carlo Ancelotti but never made an official appearance, and he joined Leganés on a three-year deal in July 2025. Searches for a Falcons star at Real Madrid Femenino also mislead. When Soccernet reported in 2019 that Chidinma Okeke had joined a Madrid side, the club was Madrid CFF.

Our view

The record is thin.

Park's four games are real and they count, but they belong to a Spain youth international who chose Spain, so calling him a Nigerian player stretches the label. For Nigerian supporters, Adepoju's story tells more. A future Super Eagles World Cup scorer was a shoulder injury and a quota rule away. If you want the bigger picture, our look at the only Nigerian with a La Liga title covers the Spanish story, and our list of foreign players eligible to play for Nigeria explains how dual heritage players slip through the NFF's net. The club also runs a Real Madrid football academy in Port Harcourt, which may one day change the answer.

This article was most recently revised and updated 24 seconds ago