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KAK
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Pulse Sports delves into all you need to know about Kenyan football legend McDonald Mariga.
When the history of Kenyan football is written, several chapters will be dedicated to McDonald Mariga, as he is among the players who broke the glass ceiling.
Mariga played for some of Europe’s top teams and also turned out for Harambee Stars, making history as the first Kenyan to play in the UEFA Champions League and the only one to have ever won it from the country.
Having honed his skills at the famous Kamukunji High School, Mariga took the route that has being taken by many players of his generation, being a move to Sweden, before he later went on to play in the Italy with Parma, Inter Milan and Latina as well as spells in Spain with Real Sociedad and Real Ovideo.
McDonald Mariga Net Worth: Age, Family, Career, Politics, Wife, Cars, How Rich is he in 2025?
How Old is McDonald Mariga?
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McDonald Mariga was born on April 4, 1987 in Nairobi to father Noah and mother Mildred.
McDonald Mariga’s Family
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McDonald Mariga comes from a sporting family as his father Noah was a footballer who played for AFC Leopards while his mother Mildred was a netball player.
Those sporting genes rubbed off on all their children as besides Mariga, elder brother Sylvester was also a footballer, who played for a number of Kenyan teams, while younger brother Victor Wanyama became the first Kenyan to play in the English Premier League when he turned out for Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur.
Mariga’s other younger brother Thomas ‘Hesky’ Wanyama was also a footballer, although he did not turn pro like his siblings, while sister Mercy Wanyama is professional basketballer.
McDonald Mariga’s football career
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Like many footballers, McDonald Mariga came from a humble family as they lived in Land Mawe in Nairobi’s Muthurwa but it was through football that he changed the life of his parents and his siblings.
McDonald Mariga had to do it from the bottom, however, as his football talents were discovered while at the famous Kamukunji High School in Nairobi, known for producing talented players in Kenya.
Mariga was a member of the Kamukunji High School 'Golden Boys', which also included Harambee Stars legend Dennis Oliech, who won two consecutive National Secondary School Championships in 2002 and 2003.
It is from this team that a number of clubs spotted talented players and lured them with Mariga joining Ulinzi Stars while still in school before moving to Tusker FC in 2003.
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At Tusker, McDonald Mariga played for one year before moving to the now defunct Kenya Pipeline where he also lasted one year from 2004-2005.
By this time, McDonald Mariga’s talents had already attracted scouts from Europe and he would make a move abroad in 2005 when he signed for Swedish third tier club Enkopings SK.
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Like it had been in the past, Mariga lasted one year at Enkopings and before the start of the 2006 season, he joined another Swedish side Helsingborgs IF.
McDonald Mariga’s success at Helsingborgs was immediate and he attracted interest from then English Premier League side Portsmouth when manager Harry Redknapp sought to sign him for a proposed €2.7 million but work permit issues held up the deal.
After one year at Helsingborgs and a dream move to the Premier League falling through, Italian side Parma came in for McDonald Mariga and paid 20 million Swedish kronor (around €2 million) in the summer of 2007 and handed him a four-year contract.
At the time, Parma were still in the Italian second tier Serie B and the midfielder played a pivotal role in the 2008-09 season when they earned promotion to Serie A after making 35 league appearances while scoring three goals.
McDonald Mariga did not last long at Parma before other football giants noticed his immense talents and in January 2010, just six months after Parma had been promoted, he had a chance to make history when Premier League side Manchester City expressed interest to sign him.
City were reportedly ready to pay €12 million after their then Italian manager Roberto Mancini had identified Mariga as the man to improve his midfield but like the Portsmouth transfer, the deal fell through when he failed to obtain a work permit, leaving him crushed.
As another chance to make history as the first Kenyan in EPL went by, there was some silver lining in the dark clouds for McDonald Mariga when Italian giants Inter Milan came calling just days after the Man City move had collapsed.
Inter, then coached by Jose Mourinho, signed McDonald Mariga on transfer deadline day on February 1, 2010, offering him a chance to challenge for the Serie A and UEFA Champions League titles.
Then Inter president Massimo Moratti hailed Mariga's move as the "best thing that could have happened" to the club in the January transfer window and the midfielder made his debut in the first leg of the 2009-10 Coppa Italia Semi-final against Fiorentina, which the Nerazzurri won 1–0.
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In March 2010, McDonald Mariga became the first Kenyan to play in the UEFA Champions League when he came on as a late substitute against Chelsea.
McDonald Mariga was part of Mourinho’s all-conquering team that won a treble of Serie A, Coppa Italia and Champions League in 2010, becoming the first and only Kenyan to lift the ‘Big Ears’ trophy, while he also won another Coppa Italia (2010-11), FIFA Club World Cup and Supercoppa Italiana in 2010.
However, injuries and poor form started hampering him and before the start of 2011-12, he was loaned out to Spanish La Liga club Real Sociedad and he would return to Inter at the end of the season but lasted six months as loan move to former side Parma took place in January 2013.
McDonald Mariga made his transfer to Parma permanent in September 2014 and played until January 2016 after which he signed for Latina, also in Italy, but in July 2017, he moved to Spanish second division club Real Ovideo, signing a one-year deal and ended his club career in Italy with Cuneo Calcio.
McDonald Mariga’s International Career
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McDonald Mariga earned 40 caps for Harambee Stars, while scoring five goals, between 2003 and 2018.
When did McDonald Mariga join politics?
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Upon retirement, McDonald Mariga joined elective politics in Kenya in September 2019 when he vied for the Kibra Parliamentary seat following the death of then MP Ken Okoth but he was unsuccessful with Imran Okoth winning and he tried again in the 2022 General Election but lost again, this time to his former Kamukunji High School teacher, Peter Orero.
McDonald Mariga would join football politics in 2024 when he vied as the running mate of Hussein Mohammed in the Football Kenya Federation and won this time, getting elected as the FKF vice president.
Is McDonald Mariga married?
McDonald Mariga has kept his personal life private and as of March 2025, it is still not known if he is married. In 2013, Mariga ended his engagement to his long-time Rwandan fiancée Ariane Umutoni.
McDonald Mariga’s Cars
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McDonald Mariga cruises in some of the most expensive luxury cars being a Cadillac Escalade 12, which is reported to have cost him Ksh20 million (Ksh12 million on purchase and close to Ksh8 million on duty), Range Rover Vellar (valued at ksh7 million) and H2 Hummer which set him back Ksh13 million.
How rich is McDonald Mariga?
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Playing at such levels came with big salaries and McDonald Mariga is estimated to have earned over $6 million in the course of his career while he also has investments in real estate in Kenya.
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