Inside Adam Idah’s life beyond football from Cork childhood to making Irish Champions League history with Celtic
ADAM Idah made Irish Champions League history on Wednesday despite Celtic ultimately falling short vs Aston Villa.
He temporarily silenced the home fans at Villa Park with a three-minute brace to level things at 2-2 – before The Villains went on to win 4-2.
![Celtic's Adam Idah and Yang Hyun-Jun celebrating a goal.](https://www.thesun.ie/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/01/celtics-adam-idah-right-celebrates-967707579.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
![7 September 2024; Adam Idah of Republic of Ireland in action against Harry Maguire of England during the UEFA Nations League B Group 2 match between Republic of Ireland and England at Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Ben McShane/Sportsfile](https://www.thesun.ie/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/01/c5130099-bfca-46b2-a8ed-56033ffe004f.jpg?strip=all&w=902)
![Two soccer players holding a trophy.](https://www.thesun.ie/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/01/idah-2.png?strip=all&w=680)
In doing so, he became the first Republic of Ireland player to score twice in a modern Champions League match proper.
Ronnie Whelan did achieve the feat for Liverpool in 1984 but that was before the competition was rebranded from the European Cup to the version football fans have become accustomed to since 1992.
Prior to this season, there hadn’t been an Irish goalscorer in the group or knockout stages since Darron Gibson in 2011.
But now the Cork native has three to his name – having netted against Slovan Bratislava in September.
He’s not the only current Irish ace to get on the scoresheet this campaign either as Liam Scales headed one in during that 5-1 rout of the Slovakian outfit.
Idah now sits third in the all-time standings of Republic of Ireland goalscorers in the Champions League.
His tally of three equals those of Damien Duff and Ian Harte while second-placed Denis Irwin has four to his name.
Roy Keane is way out on his own with 14 since he clocked up far more European appearances than any other Irish player of modern times.
In spite of the result, Wednesday night was surely among the career highlights for Idah who has had to endure near constant flak from Celtic supporters over whether he’s up to playing at such a big club.
Still only 23, here SunSport takes a closer look at his life away from the football pitch:
How old is Adam Idah and how many Ireland caps does he have?
Idah was born February 11, 2003 so he’ll be turning 24 in the next fortnight.
So far he’s accumulated 29 caps for The Boys in Green.
While his total of only four goals is disappointing, a significant share of them have come off the bench.
Whereabouts is he from?
Douglas in Cork is his hometown. College Corinthians were his boyhood club before he was snapped up by Norwich City in 2017.
![Man golfing on a course.](https://www.thesun.ie/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/01/idah.png?strip=all&w=465)
![Man sitting in a black SUV.](https://www.thesun.ie/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/01/football.png?strip=all&w=685)
![Three young men posing for a photo.](https://www.thesun.ie/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/01/idah-4.png?strip=all&w=677)
![Man on a jet ski giving a peace sign.](https://www.thesun.ie/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/01/jet.png?strip=all&w=678)
Emma Raducanu second in tennis rich list for 2024 with whopping eight-figure sum – despite making just £735k on court
EMMA RADUCANU was one of tennis’ top earners in 2024, despite pocketing just £735,000 on the court.
Raducanu, 22, has struggled to reach the sky-high standards she set for herself after winning the US Open as an 18-year-old in 2021 as a qualifier.
![Emma Raducanu celebrating a tennis match victory.](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/epa11827639-emma-raducanu-great-britain-964052500.jpg?strip=all&w=671)
![Emma Raducanu looking dejected during a tennis match.](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/emma-raducanu-great-britain-looks-915465051.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
She was knocked out of the Australian Open in the third round in a straight sets defeat to Iga Swiatek earlier this month.
And she is still searching for her second ever win on the WTA Tour.
But despite a somewhat underwhelming year on the court, albeit heavily down to long-term injury issues, the Brit has still managed to earn herself a healthy chunk of cash.
According to analysis by JeffBet and reports from Forbes, Raducanu made a whopping £9.6MILLION from sponsorship deals alone in 2024.
Combined with her on-court winnings of £735,000, that means the world number 56 pocketed a total of £10.3MILLION last year.
Raducanu has a number of lucrative sponsorships with brands such as Tiffany & Co, Dior, Nike and British Airways.
Her sponsorship cash would see her shoot up to second in the earnings chart if she could combine the income with her on-court winnings.
Of course, other players also have their own sponsorship deals that would boost their income for 2024.
![Illustration of the top 20 tennis earners in 2024, ranked by prize money and sponsorships.](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/RB-29-01-TABLE-TENNIS-EARNERSv2.jpg?strip=all&w=676)
![Jannik Sinner holding a trophy and waving.](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/2025-italys-jannik-sinner-celebrates-966827399.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
![Aryna Sabalenka celebrating a tennis victory.](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/aryna-sabalenka-belarus-celebrates-defeating-966003476.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS
But with those earnings aside, only world number one Jannik Sinner has made more cash than Raducanu last year.
Sinner, who won both the Australian Open and US Open in 2024, earned an astonishing £15.9m on the court alone.
Raducanu would make more than both Alexander Zverev (£9.3m) and Carlos Alcaraz (£8.3m) if her combined income streams were compared to their efforts solely on the court.
Arnya Sabalenka was the highest-paid woman in tennis last year in terms of prize money, making £7.8m for a campaign that saw her win the 2024 US Open and Australian Open like Sinner.
While Coco Gauff (£7.5m) and Iga Swiatek (£6.9m) were the second and third highest earning females.
From her sponsorships alone, Raducanu earned 2.6 TIMES more than Novak Djokovic made with a racquet in his hand.
Djokovic, who made £3.6m, was tennis’ 14th highest earner last year.
Raducanu is said to have earned £3MILLION from her deal with Vodafone alone.
The British number two should have a shot at increasing her on-court earnings next week when the WTA Tour heads to Abu Dhabi.
However, if her ranking fails to get her into the 32-player field at the Abu Dhabi Open, the she could play in the Transylvania Open instead – a tournament she last featured in back in 2021, reaching the quarter-finals.
![Novak Djokovic giving a thumbs up after a tennis match in Melbourne.](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/2025-serbias-novak-djokovic-gestures-966988548_728560.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
![Emma Raducanu playing tennis with a red light trail effect.](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/emma-raducanu-vodafone-894802439.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
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