Arsenal’s new signing, Thomas Partey is now among the big boys earning big pay after being one of the least paid players at his former club, Athletico Madrid.
The Ghanian midfielder looked to have cemented a starting shirt in Arsenal’s midfield after securing a 50m Euros move on deadline day.
Apart from winning the Man of the Match award on his first full start against Rapid Vienna in the Europa League, the Ghanian has been shunning out improved display for the Gunners.
He recently became the talk of the town when he marshaled the midfield against Manchester United alongside Mohamed Elnelny, who has also been a revelation this season.
Since Partey‘s arrival, there have been talks about how Mikel Arteta would reshape his midfield around him. this was because Dani Ceballos has been such a key figure under the Arsenal boss during the latter months of last season.
This made him merit another season with the Gunners as he looked guaranteed of playing a major role over the coming campaign.
Another major player is the former captain, Granit Xhaka, who had been a mainstay in the heart of the Gunners’ side from the moment Arteta took over.
But one player that surprised everyone was Mohamed Elneny, who recently returned to London from a loan spell with Besiktas. The Egyptian had to prove himself to Arteta as he was on the verge of being loaned out, only for his £50,000-a-week wages to end his chances of another potential spell in Turkey.
He now appears to have a solid partnership with Partey. This was evidenced in the Manchester United clash where the duo shut out Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba, cutting the supply of the hosts.
Partey in the Old Trafford affair had more touches (85) than any other Arsenal player, with Elneny (75) being his closest competitor.
His signature has brought energy to Arsenal midfield, which has been sorely lacking at times.
Thomas Partey Biography
Born in a town called Krobo Odumase on 13 June 1993, Partey began his professional career at Spanish club Atlético Madrid in 2013.
Before becoming a mainstay in the squad, he had loan stints at Mallorca and Almería. He returned to Atlético in 2015 and won the UEFA Europa League and UEFA Super Cup in 2018
He then became the most expensive Ghanaian player of all time after joining Arsenal in a transfer worth £45 million (€50 million).
At the international level, the midfielder has played for Ghana at two Africa Cup of Nations tournaments. He was named in the CAF Team of the Year in 2018 and won Ghana Player of the Year in 2018 and 2019.
Thomas Partey family background
It was gathered that Partey, who was born to his mother and a look-alike father, in the town of Odumase Krobo, hails from a poor but humble family background.
He is the oldest son of in a family of 8 in which the father was a local football coach while his mum was a petty trader.
Citifmonline reported that his mum already had three children before meeting with his dad.
Partey and his brother Frances were then trained by their father as both were the main identities of their father’s local team.
Both brothers planned to become professional footballers as they see it as a golden tree and hope for solace in ending poverty in their family.
In a bid to achieve his goal of playing at the highest level, the Arsenal midfielder went through hardship to the extent of him compromising his education for soccer training.
In the pursuance of his footballing dreams, he started playing football at his dad’s training base (Krobo) until the age of 10 before moving to Ashaiman.
He was nicknamed Senegal by his father because his son reminded him of a friend with the same name. He continued to develop, as he continues to seek trials from sponsors by attending football trials.
After several attempts to raise money for him to get trial abroad, Partey’s father decided to sell his property. He finally got the chance to travel to Spain after being spotted by an agent who saw him standing out in a football competition.
Both Thomas and the agent agreed he would be tried in Spain, but no discussion on the Spanish team he will be having his trial with.
To his surprise, Thomas’ agent processed all of his papers while he had nothing to do other than to train, eat, slept and wait for the
day he would travel.
After some days, Partey and his agent went to Accra, capital of Ghana and got his passport and surprisingly travel that day without his dad or any member of his family being told.
He was shocked to see that he was to play with Athletico Madrid C on reaching Spain. He then played for the team for about a before being promoted to the B team where he played alongside Oliver Torres and Saul Niguez.
This was where he was spotted by Diego Simeone and they both established a good relationship with each other.
Due to his immense talent, Partey was sometimes invited to train with the first team by the big boss. The rest they say is history.
Who is Thomas Partey’s girlfriend?
The 27-year-old Ghanaian midfielder is reported to be dating stunning Ghanaian model, Gifty Boakye.
It was reported that the Ghanaian model, who is also an entrepreneur was smuggled into Ghana’s training camp by the midfielder during last African Cup of Nations.
They have both caused a stir in Ghana after being sighted on a holiday together.
Since neither of the party have confirmed the rumour, it remains a speculation.
How much does Partey earn at Arsenal?
After signing a four-year contract with an option for another year at the Emirates, Partey will reportedly pocket a whopping £200,000-a-week plus bonuses before tax, which four times more than what he earned at Atletico Madrid.
According to ESPN, this makes Partey the third-highest earner at Arsenal.
This then means that the 27-year-old is earning averagely 30,000 pounds daily and 9.6m pounds yearly.
