Oluwaseyi's journey to finalizing his Villarreal deal
Published
Following the completion of his $11.7 million CAD move to Villarreal, expect Tani Oluwaseyi to be on the bench this weekend and likely see some game action when his new team travels to Vigo, Spain to take on Celta Vigo Sunday.
Oluwaseyi's move to Spain's top league alone is as headline-grabbing as any move a Canadian man has made into the European soccer. On the merits of his 18 goals in 51 MLS games, as well as his increasing value to Canada's attack, Oluwaseyi has been on Villarreal's radar for some time.
His immediate inclusion in Villarreal's squad this weekend is all the more remarkable because over the last week, Oluwaseyi travelled through seven cities and five different countries (a journey of approximately 31,000 KM in just over a week) to renew his Nigerian passport because that extra bit of documentation helped get his move over the line.
Born in Abuja, Nigerian, Oluwaseyi's Nigeria passport holds extra value in Spain, where its weighed the same as a European Union passport, which expedited the transfer of a player making his first foray into one of Europe's top five leagues.
But, Oluwaseyi's Nigerian passport had expired, so starting Thursday August 21 he began a whirlwind mission to make sure he had all the correct paperwork, and didn't leave anything to chance.
Oluwaseyi first flew to Toronto. The next day he flew back to Minnesota then on to Salt Lake City, where he played nearly 30 minutes off the bench in his final game for Minnesota United.
Then to get to Nigeria to renew his passport, Oluwaseyi flew from Salt Lake City to Atlanta then across the Atlantic Ocean, landing in Nigeria on Tuesday, August 26. After getting his renewed Nigerian passport, Oluwaseyi flew back to Toronto via London Tuesday night, landing Wednesday morning Toronto time. He immediately collected more documents, flew to Spain's east coast Wednesday night, and landed on Thursday morning to put pen to paper on a five-year contract with one of Spain's top six teams
Although there isn't yet a sense of Villarreal's immediate expectations for Oluwaseyi, he is said to be a kind of replacement for striker Thierno Barry, who moved from Villarreal to Everton this summer.
Now with his Canadian passport and updated Nigeria passport, Oluwaseyi is set to add more international stamps as he has been included in Villarreal's Champions League squad.
Oluwaseyi and Villarreal are set to face Manchester City, Borussia Dortmund, Jonathan David's Juventus, Bayer Leverkusen, Ajax, Tottenham Hotspur, FC Copenhagen, and Pafos from Cyprus in this fall's Champions League league phase