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By Ebenezer Bajela
Former Super Eagles striker, Odion Ighalo, has dropped a cryptic retirement hint after saying he has not more than three years left in his football career, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
The 34-year-old joined Al-Wehda last August from Al-Hilal in the Saudi Pro League.
Ighalo, a late bloomer, made his senior debut for Nigeria in 2015 as the Eagles lost 1-0 to Uganda in a friendly.
After an impressive outing at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Tunisia, where he scored five goals in seven games and led the Eagles to a third-place finish, Ighalo announced his retirement from the national team.
Ahead of the country’s 2022 World Cup qualifiers, the former Manchester United striker returned to the national team and made three appearances.
His last appearance in an Eagles jersey was against Ghana at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja in 2022, as the Eagles crashed out of the qualifying race for that year’s World Cup in Qatar.
He made 37 appearances for Nigeria, scoring 16 goals.
While he may be done with the national team, Ighalo remains prolific for his club sides and so far this season has scored 12 goals in 26 league appearances.
Last season, while with Al-Hilal, the Watford legend scored 21 goals and registered three assists in 34 games across all competitions.
While he is not showing any sign of slowing down, the Lagos-born forward hinted that he could be retiring any time soon.
“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 Sports TV.
“I’m not one of those players that 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. Do you want to tell me that is passion? No, it’s for money.
“It’s only when we Africans say it they will say we like money. But these people don’t care, some of them want to be the highest paid and all that.”
Ighalo left Europe for Chinese club Chang Chung Yatai in 2017 after a successful spell with Watford in England, where he had a 55-goal contribution (40 goals and 11 assists) in 100 appearances with the Hornets.
After spells with Chinese clubs Chang Chung Yatai and Shanghai Shenhua, Ighalo returned to England after sealing a six-month loan deal with Manchester United.