Odion Ighalo, a former Manchester United striker, offered his thoughts on Cristiano Ronaldo’s choice to join the Saudi Pro League.
The Nigerian footballer, who previously led the scoring charts in the Saudi Premier League, believes Ronaldo’s decision to transfer to the Gulf State was mostly motivated by financial considerations.
Despite Ronaldo’s statements in multiple interviews about elevating the Saudi league to the level of big European championships, Ighalo provides a different perspective.
Drawing on his own successful two-year tenure with Al-Hilal, Ighalo freely admits that his decision to the Middle East was motivated by financial concerns.
“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 or two years or when God will tell it to stop,” he told OmaSportsTV as quoted by GOAL.
“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, yet he went to Saudi Arabia. Did he do that out of passion? It’s for money, bro.”
