Nigeria international, Odion Ighalo, says money is the motivation behind football players recently making transfer moves to Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi Pro League has seen the arrival of some high-profile players in the current transfer window since Cristiano Ronaldo joined the league after ending his time at Manchester United.
Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante, Reuben Neves, and Kalidou Koulibaly are among the players to have completed their switch to the gulf league this summer.
Speaking via OmaSports TV, Ighalo, who signed for Al Shabab in Saudia Arabia in February 2021, believes players are flocking to Saudi because the money is great.
“Those players that will come out and say we are playing for passion and all that, at the end of it’s all it’s money. See the people going to Saudi Arabia, big players, is it passion they are still playing for?” he quizzed.
“[Cristiano] Ronaldo has made 100 times more than what I have in my life. He still went to Saudi, do you want to tell me it’s still passion? It’s for money.”
In an earlier interview, Senegal’s Koulibaly admitted the financial benefit was the rationale behind the decision to join Al-Hilal from Chelsea.
“I can’t deny it, I’m going to Arabia for the money. I will be able to help my whole family to live well, from my parents to my cousins,” Koulibaly said according to statements reported by ‘Corriere dello Sport’.
“I will be able to invest in the activities of my charity Capitane du Coeur in Senegal. We started to build a clinic in the village where my parents were born and raised, I have many projects to help young people.”