Ighalo: Why I rejected £300,000-a-week China deal

In from Nifemi Daniel . . .

Super Eagles striker, Watford striker Odion Ighalo revealed why he rejected a £300,000-a-week contract offer from the Chinese Super League last summer.

The 26-year-old who has scored 14 Premier League goals this season said that the offer was too tempting to reject but had to go spiritual to get solution.

“I have 14 goals in the Premier League, how do I go to China now? I was very close. They made a £10m bid and were offering me over £200,000 a week; a four-year contract. I couldn’t sleep for three days. That kind of money is not easy to turn down,” Ighalo told the Daily Mail.

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“Some teammates in the dressing room were saying, “You can’t miss this chance”. But I don’t jump into decisions like that. I prayed about it, and God said it was not for me, no matter how much money it was. I knew God would direct me. When I said I don’t want to go, they offered me more money, almost £300,000 a week. I told them it’s not about the money.”

Ighalo signed a new five-year contract with Watford last September, believed to be worth in the region of £30,000 a week.

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