Ex-Man Utd star SLAMS Cristiano Ronaldo and says Al-Nassr striker ‘playing for money, not passion’
CRISTIANO RONALDO has been slammed by former Manchester United star Odion Ighalo for following the money.
Ighalo, who finished top scorer in the Saudi Pro League at Al-Hilal last season, claimed the motivations behind his and other stars' decision to play in Saudi Arabia boiled down to money.
In an interview with OmaSportsTV via , Ighalo 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.
READ MORE IN FOOTBALL
"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."
The 34-year-old then moved on to speak about Ronaldo, who is reportedly on a whopping £173million-a-year at Al-Nassr - dwarfing Lionel Messi's Inter Miami contract.
He added: "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."
Most read in Football
Ighalo - now a free agent after leaving Al-Hilal earlier this summer - played for United between January 2020 and January 2021, scoring five goals in 23 games for the Red Devils.
Since arriving in the Middle East, 38-year-old Ronaldo has scored 14 goals in 19 games.
His arrival has opened the door for a swathe of other stars to join him, namely Karim Benzema, N'Golo Kante and Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson.
TRANSFER NEWS LIVE: All the latest news, rumours and confirmed switches from the world of football