Odion Ighalo says that Cristiano Ronaldo moved to Saudi Arabia purely for monetary reasons instead of a passion for the game.
WHAT HAPPENED? Ighalo was the top scorer in the Saudi Pro League last season, playing for Al-Hilal, although he was released at the end of the campaign. He now claims that he moved to the country purely for a wage, and insists Ronaldo is doing the same, having joined Al-Nassr, along with Benzema.
WHAT THEY SAID: Ighalo, 34, said to OmaSportsTV: “When you are young, yes, you play for passion. Back then, you don’t care about money. But at my age, I am in the final stretch of my career, I don’t know if it will be one, two years or when God will tell it to stop.
“I know it won’t be more than three years. I’ve played for passion all my life, now it’s for money. I’m not one of those players who come and say: ‘I play for passion’. Brother, it’s money. At the end of the day, it’s money.
“Is Ronaldo still playing out of passion? Ronaldo has earned 100 times more than I have in my entire life and yet he went to Saudi Arabia. Did he do that out of passion? It’s for money, bro.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE: A clutch of players have moved to Saudi Arabia this summer, with the latest being Jordan Henderson. The likes of Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante, Ruben Neves, and Roberto Firmino have also moved to the country in this transfer window.
WHAT NEXT? The Saudi Pro League influx appears to show no signs of slowing down, with Fabinho linked with a move to Ittihad.
Source: goal.com