Ademola Lookman was born on 20 October 1997 in Wandsworth, London, to Nigerian parents. He developed through Charlton Athletic's youth system, made his senior debut in 2015, and signed for Everton in January 2017 for around £7.5 million. After loan spells at RB Leipzig, Fulham, and Leicester City, he joined Atalanta on a permanent deal in summer 2022 for €15 million.
Atalanta was his transformation. On 22 May 2024 he scored a hat-trick in the UEFA Europa League final against Bayer Leverkusen, becoming the first player to score a hat-trick in a single-leg European final since Pierino Prati in 1969 and lifting Atalanta's first major continental title. He was named African Footballer of the Year for 2024 — the seventh Nigerian to win the award. Atlético Madrid signed him in February 2026 on a four-and-a-half-year contract, making him the headline winter-window addition to Diego Simeone's attack.
Lookman represented England at U19, U20 and U21 levels before switching to Nigeria in 2022. He was central to the Super Eagles' 2023 Africa Cup of Nations campaign, scoring decisive knockout-stage goals as Nigeria reached the final, where they finished runners-up; he made the Team of the Tournament.
A 1.74 m right-footed forward who plays predominantly off the left, Lookman is celebrated for direct dribbling at pace, quick feet, close control, and lethal cutting-in finishing — a profile expected to give Atlético the kind of vertical attacking edge they have sometimes lacked.