What Played Out During AFCON 2021 and Why I Decided to Quit Al'Shabab - Odion Ighalo Explained [Excerpt of ESPN Interview]

 

Super Eagles and former Manchester United striker, Odion Ighalo, said he left his former club, Al Shabab, for denying him the opportunity to participate in the 2021 African Cup of Nations in Cameroon.

In an interview with ESPN, Ighalo also hinted that he would grab a chance to return to the Premier League “with both hands”.

The 32-year-old Nigerian faulted the roles played by Al Shabab in his absence from AFCON.

“I was not happy with them and we decided to part ways because the Nations Cup that I didn’t go to caused a lot of bad blood,” Ighalo said.

According to the forward, the club were supposed to issue him an exit visa in order to allow him travel to Cameroon, but did not do so.

He said, “Four hours until my flight [to Cameroon], they had not sent me the exit visa. I called the team manager, and he told me they did not get an invitation. But I had a copy of the invitation that was sent because they copied me in the email.

“We had all this back and forth going on, I changed the ticket to the next day, and then the third day, and they still did not send me the visa. At that point I knew they did not want me to go.

“My anger was that they should have told me straight up, not smiling in my face one day and then acting a different way. That is why I decided to leave.”

The forward also said Al Hilal is a big club with title-winning traditions.

“They won the last two league titles, they won the last two Asian Champions League, the League and the Cup.

“It’s up to me to join the guys and keep winning trophies.”