In the latest move, Odion Ighalo said that Cristiano Ronaldo moved to Saudi Arabia purely for money instead of passion for football.
Ighal o was the top scorer in the Saudi Pro League last season while playing for Al-Hilal, although he was released at the end of the season. Now Ighalo claims that he himself moved to the country purely for salary, and insists Ronaldo did the same after joining Al-Nassr, along with Benzema.
The 34-year-old told OmaSportsTV : “When you’re young, yes, you play for passion. Back then, you didn’t care about money. But at my age, I’m at the end of my career. I don’t know if it will be a year, two years or when it will stop.”
“I know it won’t be more than three years. I’ve played all my life for passion, now it’s for money. I’m not one of those players who come in and say, ‘I play for passion’.”
“Ronaldo still plays for passion? Ronaldo has earned 100 times what I earn in his entire life and yet he went to Saudi Arabia. Is he doing it for passion? It’s for money stop it, buddy.”
The above statement of Ighalo has received a lot of mixed opinions, especially for the fans of the Portuguese striker. Previously, Ronaldo had stated that he had achieved all the glory in Europe and moved to Al Nassr to find a new challenge.
A group of players have moved to Saudi Arabia this summer, the latest of which is Jordan Henderson. Names like Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante, Ruben Neves, Roberto Firmino have also moved to the Middle East in this transfer window.
The Saudi Pro League transfer flow seems to show no signs of slowing down, with Fabinho being rumored with a move to Ittihad.
