“It’s crazy man, crazy. It’s like sometimes it doesn’t feel real,” says Calvin Bassey, reminiscing on his rise through the footballing ranks.

Aged just 23, the Italian-born Nigerian who made his name in Scottish football with Rangers is now taking on a new challenge at one of football’s biggest clubs in Ajax, whose world-renowned reputation for developing players was one of the biggest deciding factors in his decision to swap Glasgow for Amsterdam.

“Everyone knows about Ajax, it’s the best school to learn and improve in football, so it’s just good to be here,” Bassey tells me. “It’s been different. Being away from family, it can be hard at times but we’re all on a mission and it’s the best thing for my career. I’ve come to one of the biggest clubs in the world.”

Aged 15, Bassey joined Premier League side Leicester City and progressed through the Foxes’ youth set-up, featuring regularly for their Under-23s. Despite this, he never earned a senior appearance for the club and would later sign for Rangers on a free transfer in 2020. Fast forward two years later, Bassey would go on to make his Champions League debut this season in Ajax’s 4-0 win over his former club Rangers, something the defender believes was fate.

“Sometimes you have to pinch yourself. I couldn’t believe it!” Bassey tells me four months on with the same level of excitement you’d expect from a post-match interview. “It was against my old team as well, so it was a bit weird but it was like it was meant to be. It just goest to show how far hard work, commitment and focus can get you. I plan to keep that same discipline, desire and focus I’ve had so that I can keep pushing.” 

Keen to capitalise on Bassey’s endless joy when discussing that moment in his career, I ask him just how special hearing the Champions League anthem really is, to which his eyes light up further. “You can’t put it into words how it feels…hearing it really is a dream come true.” 

“Every kid wants to play in the Champions League so when I was there, it felt surreal. I still remember the video that went a bit viral. I was smiling as it played, I was a bit like ‘woah’, it’s a dream come true honestly.”

From Leicester’s reserve sides to Champions League territory in such a short space of time could be daunting for many players but not for Bassey, whose energy for his career and life in general has become so infectious I begin feeling as though I’m there standing side-by-side in each moment with him.

“Everyone loves a Champions League night. The atmosphere is crazy! The teams you’re playing against and some of the players you face. I used to play as them on FIFA not too long ago and now I’m playing against them… it’s a bit mad. Playing against Liverpool and you’re playing against the likes of Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Thiago.”

“I’ve watched Thiago for years and to be on that pitch with him was unreal. When you get into the game, it’s game mode and you’re locked in but after, you appreciate it and when you see a picture of you two together you’re like ‘oh s***, that’s me you know’, Bassey laughs. “But it’s nice to be on that stage and be able to test yourself against some of the best players in the world.” 

After leaving Rangers, Bassey became the Scottish club’s most expensive player sale in his £20m move to the Eredivisie despite only spending two years at Ibrox. His journey to Ajax, who carry the nickname de Godenzonen (sons of the Gods), is one that Bassey believes has been down to his faith. “I’m very religious. I’m a Christian, my Mum brought me up to be a Christian and for me, my faith is one of the strongest things I have.”

“When things aren’t going well, I look up or I might say a little prayer when I’m on the pitch because I feel like it gives me strength. It’s my life really. My faith is my life. It shows my journey as well because how many kids want to be footballers in England? I believe the faith I have has got me here.” 

Here being the biggest club in the Netherlands, a country with a national team known for their dress-sense when international duty arrives. From Memphis Depay to Steven Bergwijn, the Dutch hold their own on the drip front, something Bassey is now getting to see first-hand.

“Ay, these boys got drip you know,” Bassey reveals after being quizzed on the style in Ajax’s dressing room. “Best-dressed in the team?” he says firing my question back at me. Amidst a huge grin, he takes a second to exhale, attempting to relieve all of the pressure from a question that has friendships riding on it. “There’s a couple,” he responds, unable to pick just one from a squad full of fashionistas.

“I like the way Steven Bergwijn dresses, then you’ve got Jurriën Timber as well. Devyne Rensch is a good dresser and Brian Brobbey, they’re more my style. They can do like the smart casual or they can do the going out drip, so I think them lot.”

Inevitably, I then prod him to name the worst-dressed in the squad. “I knew this was coming! I knew this was coming!” Bassey says in laughter. “I’ve got one in mind you know,” he says laughing once again but this time with both hands covering his face. “I’ve got one in mind but I can’t do my guy like that, I can’t do my guy like that! We always get on to him for how he comes to training, obviously I know it’s just training but sometimes, wow… he drags it. But I’m not going to say his name because I’ve got too much love for him, man.” 

Away from the dressing room, Bassey’s source of inspiration for style, like many, comes from social media. With football and fashion continuing to grow to new heights, players are fast becoming fashion icons for not just Gen-Z but for fellow ballers too. “When I’m scrolling on Instagram, Joe Willock comes really clean. Reiss Nelson too, he’s clean. Then I’ve got my boys like Glen Kamara and Joe Aribo, I think they dress nice. Nnamdi Ofoborh dresses nice as well and obviously some of the Ajax boys but aside from who I know, Joe and Reiss, I’m really rating them.” 

Bassey himself doesn’t claim to be one of football’s best-dressed just yet, instead, he humbly asks for my opinion on each piece he has laid out on his bed during our shoot, keen to hear ideas on if anything else in his wardrobe would work better. Whilst his rise to Ajax has allowed him to have more options to choose from in his outfits, his admits his childhood drip didn’t quite have the same luxury.

“Yeah I can’t lie, I used to rock the astro’s you know. The Sondico ones were peak! I used to wear astro’s with everything, even jeans. When you’re younger, you don’t think and you don’t care as much. All I cared about is that if I had to look smart then I was also still able to run and play football. I had to try and do both! My drip was a bit mad back in the day,” Bassey admits with a smile, a common theme throughout our conversation.

Now finding himself in a position to experiment with his style, I ask him which has been the worst purchase he’s ever made and in typical fashion, Bassey’s response doesn’t disappoint. “The mandem get on to me sometimes because I’ve got this camouflage Moncler jacket. They really get onto me for that. They got onto me for some Jordan 1s, the black and yellow pair, yeah they gave me stick for them. They were calling me bumblebee and that,” he says bursting into laughter along with the rest of us in the room. “To this day, the laces haven’t even been done. Only one shoe is done, the other still isn’t. I haven’t even worn them so I think that traumatised me a bit still.” 

Whilst the black and yellow Jordan 1s don’t get to see the light of day, Bassey opts for a classic when I ask him to choose one pair he’d wear for the rest of his life. “White Airs. White Airs. CLEAN! “They go with anything, you can chill it out, you can dress it up. White airs, man. It has to be,” he says on the Nike Air Force 1.

Having excelled from youth football to Europe’s elite within such a short space of time on top of the mental and physical demands football places on each athlete, Bassey’s life would predictably have been quite hectic in recent years and he now finds himself in a new country without his family or long-time friends always being around, something many can find difficult. The defender admits whilst it’s something he’s now used to, other players in similar situations shouldn’t suffer in silence.

“I think the awareness of mental health in football has gone up massively,” Bassey tells me.

“I’ve lived away from home since I was 15, so I know how hard it can be moving away at such a young age. There are people in harder situations, I was only two hours away from home and I was still struggling. I can only imagine how it is for players that come from other parts of the world and with that, I think there needs to be more resources available for them to talk and ask for help if they need to. It’s equally, if not more, important for young players to have that support too. They need to feel comfortable enough to know it’s ok to share how they feel and ask for help if they need it..”

Despite the distance between Bassey and his friends, modern-day technology has helped to reduce the impact of being apart with gaming being the way the Ajax man reconnects with those outside of Amsterdam when he finds himself with some downtime.

“How do I relax? COD or FIFA with the boys. I play Ultimate Team but do you know what, FIFA was out for like a week and I’m seeing people with Thierry Henry in their team and I’m like ‘nah man’. It’s unfair. I’ve got myself in my team and I’m trying to play against someone who has Henry, I don’t stand a chance, you know what I’m saying?”

After the laughter settles, I ask how often he uses himself in the game. Again, Bassey brings the humour in his response: “I got the 99 special-rated card of myself but I’d never buy myself because I want gold players and I’m silver, what the hell am I going to do for my team? I normally make a strong Premier League squad or something like that.”

“Warzone? BIG. I play that a lot,” Bassey says in reference to the latest Call Of Duty. “We’ve been off it the past couple of weeks with the World Cup and different schedules but normally, during the season, we’ve got our four and we’re in. Sometimes they snake me because of the hour timezone difference but I’ve got my four that normally play together.”

“My squad is me, Joe, Glen and Nnams. Glen, we call him Capitano. He’s COLD! Glen is one of them where there are two people left and he’s by himself and you’ll just back him. His IQ on the game is a joke. He’s so good man.”

Like gaming, music is another thing Bassey finds enjoyment in away from the pitch. “I could hop up on as the DJ and be confident, yeah,” he says with his ever-present smile.

“I’ve got different genres depending on how I’m feeling. I’ve got the party vibe, Lil Baby, Gunna and Young Thug and then I can switch it to Michael Jackson, he’s cold! I can even switch it to Ed Sheeran or Adele. I think Adele is BIG! In the morning, driving in, nobody needs to be listening to fast songs. You gotta’ slap on a bit of Adele and Ed Sheeran.”

With Bassey in the flow and answering my questions with ease, I hit him with a tougher one, making him choose only three artists to feature in his everyday playlist. “Rah, that’s harsh you know!” he says, struggling for words for the first time this afternoon.

“I would say Lil Baby, actually, I don’t know because I can’t have two U.S artists. Can I put Lil Durk and Lil Baby as one? Those two as one. That’s a hard question you know… Ed Sheeran, because I think sometimes you need a bit of calm, relaxing music and then… you’ve got me here mate.”

Happy in my accomplishment of making Bassey’s mind tick, I then give him an easier question next, to name his favourite album of all time. “I’ve got to say the Lil Baby album when Time came out, the track with Meek Mill. Street Gossip, yeah that’s it. It had just come out and I banged it. I ain’t banged no other album like I banged that one! So probably Lil Baby Street Gossip.”

Though he doesn’t lack confidence in regards to his taste in music, Bassey being new to the scene at Ajax means he’s not quite qualified for the role of the dressing room DJ yet, instead a surprise choice takes over the role.

“It’s Daley Blind [before his Ajax exit] or Kenneth Taylor. Daley surprised me as well because I was thinking ‘who is on DJ’ and there was Daley and I was like ‘yooooo, alright!’. He’s got a bit of everything. He’s got like Dutch music, he’s got Burna Boy, Afrobeats, Latino for the Latino boys so he mixes it very well for the whole team so I’m having it.”

“On match day, I like to listen to Gospel but then like right before I might listen to something that gets me amped, like drill. It depends on how I’m feeling. It depends on my mood on the day.”

To many, Bassey’s rise may be a pipe dream. After rejections in his youth ranging from Leyton Orient to Crystal Palace, losing hope and giving up would have not only been reasonable but expected. But Bassey, against all odds, made it to Europe’s greatest stage before his 23rd birthday. Now, with the blueprint in his hands, he’s aiming to create a legacy to show others from a similar background that they can do it too.

“I want to show kids from my area and less-privileged areas that they’ve always got a chance. With hard work, focus and dedication, they can achieve whatever they want. I think that’s the biggest thing and something I try to spread now, to all the kids, if you have a dream, stick to it and give it all you can,” Bassey says, expressing his vision passionately.

“I’ve always said I’d rather give my best and if it’s not good enough, know I gave everything I could rather than just give up because it was too hard. If you give your best every single day, you won’t waste a day of improving.”

Photography by Shane Bain.

Styling by Calvin Bassey himself.