Former Super Eagles forward Odion Ighalo, in a conversation with Rasheedat Ajibade during her session #Rash4Christ, revealed that upon discovering he was Manchester United’s third-choice option for a backup striker, he began praying earnestly for the first two deals to fall through so he could join the club.
Fortunately for him, those moves collapsed, and he secured his dream transfer to United.
He also shared that he never complained about taking a pay cut, stating he was even willing to play for free to wear the Red Devils’ jersey:
*”My agent told me Man Utd wanted a backup striker. They had four options [in the market], and I was the third option. I started praying against those options so that they wouldn’t work.
And when my agent called me and said the other options didn’t work, I said, ‘Thank you, God.’ I got a pay cut; I didn’t care. I just told my agent to make the deal work. Even if they didn’t give me money to play for United, I just wanted to wear that jersey.”*
During the 2020 January transfer window, Odion Ighalo returned to the Premier League, joining Manchester United on loan from the Saudi club Shanghai Shenhua. The 35-year-old made 23 appearances for Manchester United under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, scoring five goals and providing one assist.
Ighalo became the first Nigerian and the seventh African to play for the Red Devils since the club’s inception.
