Nigeria striker Odion Ighalo has revealed he parted ways with Saudi side Al Shabab because they refused to release him for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon).
The 32-year-old came out of retirement to be selected for the just ended tournament but the club he joined on a two-and-a-half-year deal as a free agent refused to release him despite being named in the Super Eagles squad.
The former Manchester United star has now terminated his deal with the club and signed for another Saudi club Al-Hilal.
“I was not happy with them and we decided to part ways because of the Nations Cup that I didn’t go to, it caused a lot of bad blood,” he told ESPN.
“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.”
Ighalo bagged a brace for Al-Hilal on Thursday night in his debut league match against Al Shabab.