By Oluwadamilola Olaleye
Belgian-Nigerian striker Cyriel Dessers has completed a permanent transfer to Panathinaikos FC, signing a three-year deal with the Greek Super League club for an undisclosed fee.
The 30-year-old has been assigned the number 33 jersey and is the tenth addition to Rui Vitória’s squad.
Dessers’ journey began at Lokeren at age 21, gaining valuable experience in both the Belgian league and Europa League.
He later moved to NAC Breda in the 2016/17 season, scoring 22 goals in a single campaign, which earned him a transfer to Utrecht.
After two years in the Netherlands, he joined Heracles Almelo in 2019, finishing as Eredivisie top scorer with 15 goals. A €4 million move to Genk followed in 2020, including a loan spell at Feyenoord, where he topped the UEFA Conference League scoring charts with 10 goals, alongside nine in the Eredivisie.
Dessers returned to Genk in 2022 before moving to Cremonese, and subsequently to Rangers after the Italian side’s relegation.
In Scotland, he thrived, netting 22 goals in his first season and 29 in his second, finishing as the league’s top scorer and adding domestic cup honors in both Belgium and Scotland.
His move to Panathinaikos represents a fresh chapter in a prolific career that spans multiple European leagues, where he has consistently proven his goal-scoring pedigree.
Samuel Ahmadu is a distinguished multimedia journalist and women's football expert with over 15 years of experience in the industry. On the back of domestic engagement since 2008, he began his international career journey at Goal.com in February 2014, where he served as an African women's football correspondent for nearly eight years. During his tenure at Goal.com, Samuel covered major events such as three Women's Africa Cup of Nations (2016, 2018, 2022) and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada plus 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. His work at Goal.com earned him widespread acclaim, particularly for his in-depth profiles of African football stars, notably Asisat Oshoala, whose rise he documented from her early years to her breakthrough at the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup in 2014. Prior to his role at Goal.com, Samuel freelanced for various print and broadcast media outlets in Nigeria, including Graphics Newspaper, Radio Nigeria, Grace FM, and Savid Newspaper. His extensive experience and expertise led to his appointment to the Nigeria Football Federation's Standing Committee on Women's Football Development from 2016 to 2018. Since February 2018, Samuel has been the Social Media Manager for Nigeria's women's national teams.In 2019, Samuel joined the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as a women's football content contributor and was promoted to Women's Football Editor in 2021. His contributions to women's football continued as he worked as a Media Consultant for Content Creation and Editorials at the 2022 CAF Women's Champions League. Currently, Samuel also serves as the spokesman for the Nigeria Women Football League, further solidifying his influence and dedication to the growth of women's football in Africa.
