Nigerian striker Odion Ighalo has argued that a player like Cristiano Ronaldo has lost his passion for the game of football which is why he is playing in Saudi Arabia.
Since Cristiano Ronaldo terminated his contract with Manchester United ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup and joined Saudi Pro League club Al Nassr for a deal reportedly worth about £173 million per year, a series of A-list players have joined the league from top clubs in Europe.
One of the stunning moves the Saudi Pro League successfully executed this summer was convincing Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema to reject a one-year contract extension to grab a three-year deal with Al-Ittihad worth close to $321 million.
While Ronaldo thought his move to Saudi Arabia is attracting elite players from Europe to join the league, Odion Ighalo argued that players are moving to the league because of the outrageous offers.
The 34-year-old Nigerian striker who is currently without a club after leaving Al Hilal at the end of the 2022-2023 season told Nigerian journalist, Oma Akatugba on OmaSportsTV that he is also playing for money at this stage of his football career.
“I’ve played for passion all my life, now it’s for money”, Odion Ighalo said.
“When you are young, yes, you play for passion. Back then, you don’t care about money”.
Odion Ighalo went further to insist that even 38-year-old Ronaldo who has made 100 times more money than him is currently in Saudi Arabia for the 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”, Ighalo argued.
“Did he do that out of passion? It’s for money, bro.”
