Odion Ighalo, former Nigeria International and a striker for the Super Eagles, has stated that the primary motivation for him and Cristiano Ronaldo to play in the Saudi Arabian league is financial.
However, several of these celebrities who relocated to Saudi Arabia hardly ever acknowledge that they joined the League for financial gain, despite the fact that they make hundreds of thousands of euros a year.
The Nigerian striker unashamedly disclosed in a recent interview that, unlike the majority, financial reasons were the primary motivator for him, Ronaldo, as well as the majority of the league’s foreign players, to make the switch to Saudi Arabia.
“I don’t know when God says stop, but I know it’s not going to be more than three years before I stop. I’ve played for passion all my life; I have to play for money now,” Ighalo told Oma TV as per Soccernet.ng. “I’m not one of those players who will say I am playing football for passion. I am playing for money; at the end of the day, it is about the money.
“See people that are going to Saudi Arabia, big players. Is Ronaldo still playing for passion? He has made more than 100 times what I have in my life, but he still went to Saudi Arabia. You want to tell me that is passion? No, it’s for money.
“It’s only when we Africans say it that they will say we like money. But these people don’t care; some of them want to be the highest paid and all that.”
Following his six-month loan to Manchester United, Ighalo moved to Shanghai on a one-year deal. The 34-year-old then finalised his transfer to Al Shabbab, where he began receiving €170,000.
Two years later, Portuguese sensation Ronaldo signed a record-breaking three-year contract worth €210.704 million to join Al Nassr, another Saudi Arabian team. That indicated that players from mainstream Europe were joining the rest of the pack.
Ighalo joined the Saudi League at the same time when the league was receiving financial reinforcements and an upgrade.
After playing for Watford, Lyn, Udinese, Granada, and Cesena, the Super Eagles star left mainstream Europe in 2017 to join the Saudi Arabian club Chang Chung Yatai. The Nigerian striker was a valuable asset for English club Watford, as he helped them advance from the English Championship to the Premier League.
In his 100 appearances for the Hawks, Ighalo scored 40 goals and provided 11 assists, guaranteeing that when he transferred to Chang Chung Yatai, he would earn a weekly wage of €200,000. The Nigerian striker transferred to Shanghai Shenhua, another Chinese team, two years later, when he was paid a comparable sum.
Ighalo is presently at Al Wehda, where, in 26 club games, he has scored 12 goals. With 29 goals this season, Ronaldo is currently 17 goals ahead of him.