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Odion Ighalo is not a player who hides his emotions, and he proved it last year by taking shots at Cristiano Ronaldo. The former Manchester United star questioned the Portuguese star's move to Al Nassr and claimed that it was purely for money.
Speaking to OmaSportsTV in July 2023, Ighalo said that Ronaldo didn't move to Saudi Arabia for anything but money. He believes that there's no passion-driven thought behind his move and compared it to his situation, where he's also eyeing the money bags. He said:
"When you are young, yes, you play for passion. Back then, you don't care about money. But at my age, I am in the final stretch of my career, I don't know if it will be one, two years or when God will tell it to stop. I know it won't be more than three years.
"I've played for passion all my life, now it's for money. I'm not one of those players who come and say: 'I play for passion'. Brother, it's money. At the end of the day, it's money. Is Ronaldo still playing out of passion? Ronaldo has earned 100 times more than I have in my entire life, and yet he went to Saudi Arabia. Did he do that out of passion? It's for money, bro."
Cristiano Ronaldo moved to Al-Nassr in December 2022 after his contract at Manchester United was mutually terminated. That happened after the former Real Madrid star gave an explosive interview to Piers Morgan, where he attacked the club, owners and coach, which led to his contract termination just before the FIFA World Cup.
Cristiano Ronaldo gave up happiness for money, claims Rivaldo
Brazil legend Rivaldo also took shots at Cristiano Ronaldo and claimed that he was tricked by the money offered by the Saudi Pro League club. He believes that the former Juventus star could have stayed in Europe, telling AS:
"I understand that sometimes the players are tricked by the big contract they sign in Saudi Arabia. But then life there is further away, and your football may not always be as easy as expected.
"So, he may be going through a phase of some disappointment and even reflection. So maybe the money he is receiving makes up for the not so happy life he is living at the moment."
Cristiano Ronaldo's move to Saudi Arabia saw several stars like Neymar, Karim Benzema, N'Golo Kante and more also switch to the Middle East. The forward has scored 50 goals in 56 games for Al Nassr, but they are behind Al-Hilal in the standings.
