Meet Odion Ighalo who led Nigeria to third place at the 2019 Africa cup of Nations || Diaspora Stars
Updated: Oct 5, 2022
Odion Jude Ighalo (born 16 June 1989) is a Nigerian football striker who plays for Saudi club Al Hilal and the Nigeria national team.
Ighalo began his career at Nigerian clubs Prime and Julius Berger before moving to Norwegian club Lyn in 2007. A year later, he was signed by Italian club Udinese, where he spent the majority of his time on loan with Spanish club Granada. He joined Championship club Watford in 2014 and was instrumental in the club's promotion to the Premier League in the 2014-15 season. Ighalo joined Chinese Super League club Changchun Yatai in January 2017 for a reported £20 million before moving on to Shanghai Shenhua. Ighalo returned to the Premier League in January 2020, joining Manchester United on loan for the remainder of the 2019-20 season; the loan was then extended until January 2021.
In March 2015, he made his Nigerian national team debut against Uganda. He also represented his country in the 2018 World Cup and scored the most goals in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification campaign. In 2019, he led Nigeria to third place at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, where he was named Team of the Tournament and named top soccer player.