Zaidu Sanusi

Porto On 30 August 2020, Sanusi signed a five-year contract with FC Porto. He scored his first goal on 25 November, opening a 2–1 win at Olympique de Marseille in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League, being named in the tournament's Team of the Week. He won the first trophy of his career on 23 December, when he played the entire 2–0 defeat of Benfica in the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira, and finished his first year with 41 competitive matches, scoring in the 4–3 league win over C.D. Tondela.

Sanusi remained first choice in the 2021–22 campaign despite the signing of Wendell, and scored the only goal in the 93rd minute of O Clássico against Benfica on 7 May 2022 to seal the club's 30th league title. Fifteen days later, he started and finished the final of the Taça de Portugal, defeating Tondela 3–1.

In 2022–23, Sanusi fought for a starting place with the Brazilian. He suffered a muscle injury in a Champions League group victory against Atlético Madrid on 1 November, and did not return until February.

Sanusi missed the vast majority of the following two seasons, mainly due to a serious anterior cruciate ligament injury to his left knee.

International career Sanusi made his debut for the Nigeria national team on 9 October 2020, in a 1–0 friendly defeat against Algeria in Klagenfurt. He earned his first official cap the following month, in the 4–4 home draw with Sierra Leone for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. At the finals in Cameroon, the team were eliminated in the last 16 by Tunisia; manager Augustine Eguavoen was criticised for ordering Sanusi and right-back Ola Aina not to attack before they were losing with ten men.

Sanusi was also selected for the 2023 and 2025 continental tournaments.

Career statistics Club

International

Taça de Portugal: 2021–22, Taça da Liga: 2022–23 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 2020, 2026

Nigeria Africa Cup of Nations runner-up: 2023; third place: 2025

Orders