Manchester United striker, Odion Ighalo is not considering coming out of his self-imposed retirement from international football despite the increasing appeal in some quarters urging him to return to the national team, Completesports.com reports
This was revealed to Complete Sports in a telephone conversation with the footballer’s brother, Moses Ighalo following the latest appeal made by former Super Eagles skipper, Nwankwo Kanu urging the former Watford forward to reconsider playing for Nigeria.
Ighalo has been in superb form since joining Manchester United on loan in January with the player having scored three goals in seven outings prompting Kanu to moot the idea of luring the player out of retirement to play for the Eagles.
According to Kanu – a two-time African Footballer of the year, “Nigeria needs every good player no matter where they are playing or their age.”
Also Read: Ighalo Flaunts Special Bonding With The ‘Loving Mata’ At Man United
But Moses, was noncommittal, saying Ighalo is currently focusing on doing well for United and is not considering returning to international football.
“Well, I have to thank Nigerians for the support Odion has received since joining United which was his boyhood dream club. The goodwill has been massive and the entire family appreciate it.
“For now, Ighalo has not hinted me or the rest of the family as regards coming out of international retirement. All his focus, for now is doing well at United and we are all praying for him to succeed.
“It is good the little he has done at United has not gone unnoticed but I know he would consult with the family if he wants to change his mind about playing for Nigeria,” sums up Ighalo’s brother.
Another ex-Eagles striker, Victor Ikpeba in his own opinion believes Ighalo’s decision should be respected having served the country well before calling time on his international career.
By Sulaiman Alao
5 Comments
A very wise decision by Ighalo’s loved ones. Go tear down nets for Man U. Still a great service to your country, though indirectly. These clubs would not hesitate to sign Nigerians. We’re really a blessed country.
Please ighalo don’t come back . tell kaun you have taken your discission
All those clamouring for ighalos return to SE should stop let’s allow d young man to concentrate of his club career n enjoy d recent burst of Fame while it last SE is not short of options in d strikers department so let us all respect his decision if we put him under pressure to return to d national team it might be counterproductive n i know SE fans de will crucify him
You only come out of retirement, when the younger ones aren’t performing. But that isn’t the case with SE. So why then?
Ighalo has run his race, let others continue where he left off. Meanwhile, I highly doubt that we’ll be seeing any international matches during the international break. If I had to bet my hard earned money, I would place it on this coronavirus thing forcing postponement of the qualifiers and all other international matches until the virus is under control. It would be the sensible thing to do.