New teenage England star Bukayo Saka has crowned his breakthrough by moving out of the family home he grew up in – and into a footballers’ mansion, MailOnline can reveal.
The 21 year old grew up in modest circumstances just five miles from Wembley where he lived with his parents and siblings.
The family occupied a small two-storey semi-detached home in Greenford, in the borough of Ealing, London, where Bukayo would kick a ball as a young boy on the communal green after school.
But following his breakthrough into the first team at Arsenal, he quietly upgraded by buying a six-bedroomed contemporary mansion with sprawling grounds.
He bought the enormous house in leafy Hertfordshire in November 2019 for £2.3 million – just as he turned 18.
Bukayo, who had been given his first professional contract by Arsenal at 17, is thought to have moved his parents and siblings in with him soon after.
The house came complete with spa and walk-in wardrobes but he wanted to personalise it and workmen have been upgrading it regularly ever since.
The exact details of the upgrade have not been revealed but it’s understood the renovations have been extensive.
A team of workmen were even working in the grounds today to further modernise the property, which dwarfs its neighbours.
New teenage England star Saka has crowned his breakthrough by moving out of the family home he grew up in – and into a footballers’ mansion (pictured), MailOnline can reveal
Following his breakthrough into the first team at Arsenal, he quietly upgraded by buying a six-bedroomed contemporary mansion (pictured – an artist’s impression of the building) with sprawling grounds
The stunning kitchen includes a breakfast bar and island hob, with separate ovens, hanging lights and and a seating area
The kitchen-diner looks out to the back garden of the property through huge sliding glass doors
The 19 year old grew up in modest circumstances just five miles from Wembley where he lived with his parents and siblings
The area is more popularly associated with Tottenham than Arsenal – club legends Gary Mabbutt and Martin Chivers both lived there and current players Dele Alli and Serge Aurier both live nearby.
It’s a far cry from his modest childhood home. England’s new hero was in contact with neighbours on his old estate after last night’s big win and his generous family are well-known for helping people move house as well as sending footballs, games consoles and money to help hard-up people in the area.
His man of the match performance against the Czech Republic last night marks an extraordinary journey for the Arsenal winger, 19, who was born five miles from Wembley and is nicknamed ‘little chilli’ by teammates because he spices up attacks.
The teetotal hero and straight-A student lives with his mother Adeniki and father Yomi who always order him to go to bed early before big games. They moved to Hertfordshire to be closer to Arsenal’s training ground last year.
Buyako bought the enormous house in leafy Hertfordshire in November 2019 for £2.3 million – just as he turned 18
Bukayo, who had been given his first professional contract by Arsenal at 17, is thought to have moved his parents and siblings in with him soon after
The house came complete with spa and walk-in wardrobes but he wanted to personalise it and workmen have been upgrading it regularly ever since
The exact details of the upgrade have not been revealed but it’s understood the renovations have been extensive. A team of workmen were even working in the grounds today to further modernise the property, which dwarfs its neighbours
Meseret Degeti, 34, from Ethiopia and a mother of three boys, told MailOnline when she moved in two years ago, the Saka family introduced themselves by presenting her sons with a sack filled with 20 footballs.
She said: ‘They are so kind, friendly and always helpful. Bukayo and his brother helped me move furniture when I was moving in. Their father is just fantastic and his wife is very kind.
‘Yomi gave my boys an X-box last Christmas and £40. He was always encouraging my sons to play football. He only told me his children played football and were good, but he did not say exactly how good. He still comes and visits, especially when I have issues with the house. He was here in April to sort out a plumbing issue. When they were living here, he would often drive my children to school.’
Bukayo’s Nigerian parents, who are devoted Christians, settled in Ealing when they came to the UK in the 1990s as economic migrants to give their unborn children a better life. But while their son wowed on the immaculate Wembley turf last night, it was a scrap of land outside his family’s former terraced property in west London where it all began.
Saka, who went to Edward Betham C of E Primary School and then Greenford High School, was ‘always kicking a football in front of the house’, said Loraine Cain, 62.
She told MailOnline: ‘They were a lovely, polite and very quiet family. Bukayo was never without a ball and was always kicking one around outside.’
Saka starred for England last night as the Three Lions beat Czech Republic 1-0 to secure top spot in Euro 2020 Group D
Fellow neighbour Eileen Nolder, 91, said he had moved to be closer to the Arsenal football ground to give his son every chance of succeeding without having to leave home.
She said: ‘They are a lovely family, Yomi in particular. He was fantastic and the boys were lovely. There were a couple of times when an ambulance was called for me. Yoni noticed and came straight over to help. Anything you needed carrying or doing, he would come and do it. She added: ‘Yomi was convinced his son was going to be a star and they moved to be closer to Arsenal. I was very sad when the family left.’
Another neighbour, who did not want to be named, texted Bukayo to congratulate him last night. He said: ‘We’re very proud of him.’
Meseret Degeti, 34, from Ethiopia and a mother of three boys, remembered the Sakas as a generous family always willing to lend a helping hand. Although they left the house where Bukayo grew up in April last year, his father Lionel – known affectionately in the neighbourhood as Yomi – still pops back to see if Mrs Degeti needs any jobs doing around the house and helps with the school run.
Mrs Degeti said the Sakas were devoted Christians and when Bukayo’s father visited, he would encourage her children to pray with him.
She said: ‘He would tell them they needed to pray, to help their mother and to be kind to each other. He would ask them what they wanted to be when they grew up. He would talk to them all the time about football and always brought them gifts.
‘My eldest is now 11 years old and obsessed with football.’ Mr Saka worked as a businessman and manages property.
From the age of three he was playing football on a small green with his father Yomi and older brother Abayomi every night, who were so worn they had to beg him to go inside to bed.
His mother Adenike and father worked menial jobs to pay the bills while ferrying their son to football in the evenings and on weekends after he signed for Arsenal aged seven – but were clear that if he wanted to be a professional footballer he must also succeed at school.
Bukayo Saka, believed to be pictured with his brother Abayomi on holiday, in a rare personal picture on his Instagram
His football career began here on this green in Ealing, where he would play every night with his brother and father from the age of three
Bukayo duly left Greenford High School in the summer of 2018 with four A*s and three As in his GCSEs, with his teachers describing him as ‘the humble boy who achieved his dreams as well as a first-class education’.
The school’s PE department tweeted last night: ‘Bukayo Saka at Greenford High School: always ready to learn, so respectful towards staff and peers, wonderful family and top grades. Such a proud night!’.
After a brilliant season at Arsenal, where he became player of the year, and a turgid performance by England against Scotland last Friday, Saka showed his world class football skills when he replaced Phil Foden and sparked the team into life last night. He was also instrumental in Raheem Sterling’s goal that saw England beat the Czechs 1-0 and win the group.
Bukayo and his family ignored the signs and played football outside every day
And like after every game, Bukayo, whose name hails from the West African Yoruba tribe and means ‘adds to happiness’ – will have FaceTimed his doting parents at full time.
After a barnstorming first half Arsenal legend Ian Wright said Saka was ‘burdened with glorious purpose’ – the motto of Marvel anti-hero Loki, the trickster god and adopted son of Odin and brother of Thor.
While Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has given him the nickname ‘Little chilli’, because he ‘spices up’ the team, even buying him a jacket with a jewel-encrusted red chilli and Saka’s sewed along the front.
His family is his anchor, living with his parents and close to his brother. Bukayo’s Instagram has the biography ‘God’s child’ and unlike other footballers he is not full of pictures of mansions, flash cars, and expensive jewellery, and only has one holiday photo.
He was reportedly the only England player without alcohol on his table in the team’s lounge. He prefers juices, smoothies and milkshakes.
And despite signing a four-year deal earning him a reported £10,000-a-week, he still lives with his parents after buying them a home near the club’s training ground in Barnet. He is believed to be single and goes on holiday with his brother.
He told arsenal.com: ‘From the age of three or four I would be playing football at home with my dad, and my older brother, Yomi.
‘It was always like that. We would play for hours. My dad and brother would want to go back inside but I never let them. We kept playing until I won. I’m serious, you can ask them! As long as they were winning, I wouldn’t let them back inside.’
He added: ‘I still live with my parents, but we’ve moved away from Greenford now, closer to the training ground, and my brother has moved to Reading to go to university’.
New England hero Bukayo with staff at his former school during a visit after leaving in 2019
One source close to the star says his feet are firmly on the ground, adding: ‘He’s a brilliant, brilliant kid. Very polite, very courteous, actually very smart and very studious’.
Describing his personality Neil Dewsnip, who coached Saka for England’s Under-18s, told The Athletic: ‘He’s really quiet, self-disciplined, really focused. But underlying all that is a really dry sense of humour. He’s a cheeky little chap, whose self-confidence is obviously growing all the time.’
Bukayo was given a hug and a pat on the back after a brilliant game as he made his Euro 2020 debut
Just six months after leaving school he made his first team debut in 2019, aged 17, but the humble footballer chose to praise his family rather than his own performance.
He said at the time: ‘My family were buzzing, they couldn’t stop smiling when I told them. But they managed to put me to bed early to focus on today, they were so happy.’
After the game he tried to speak to his proud parents and brother but was taken away for an ice bath. But he still managed to FaceTime them from the freezing water.
Saka is also a hero to students at Greenford High School in Ealing, where his framed and signed Arsenal shirt is on the wall.
His former PE teacher Mark Harvey told The Times: ‘In the last year of doing GCSEs, Bukayo was out of school with Arsenal quite a bit, but he was brilliant.
‘He knuckled down, got really good grades and came out with flying colours. In terms of a sportsman: superb. In terms of a student: role model’.
He added: ‘The family were always insistent that schoolwork had to be addressed. Thankfully, Bukayo was brilliant with his studies — and it was never a concern for us.’
His school are rightly proud of the heights their former student has reached
Greenford High School where Bukayo Saka was a pupil, gaining all As and A*s at GCSE
He started his academic life at Edward Betham of E Primary School School, where his sporting prowess also showed
For Bukayo there was never any doubt he would choose England over his parents’ native Nigeria.
He said recently: ‘My whole family has been in England like forever. When I grew up all my documents stated that I am English, hopefully Nigerian people will understand’.
From the age of three he was playing football on a small green with his father Yomi and older brother Abayomi every night.
He played for his local club, Greenford Celtic, until he was picked up by Arsenal, aged seven.
source: dailymail.co.uk
