ODION IGHALO believes he was ‘unfairly’ benched during his time at Manchester United.
The Nigerian striker, 31, joined the Red Devils on loan in January 2020 in a ‘dream’ transfer after snubbing Tottenham.
But he felt he should have got more game time than his 757 minutes across 23 appearances under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer before joining Al Shabab in Saudi Arabia in February.
Ighalo always wanted to play for his beloved United and clearly enjoyed his time at Old Trafford – but looks back with a tinge of frustration after impressing with five goals when given chances.
He told Sky Sports News: “After my initial loan was extended, I did not play much which was perhaps a bit unfair but I am always grateful for the opportunity.
“When I joined, I always knew I wouldn’t be playing every game because I was signing as a back-up striker so I knew playing time was going to be limited.
“There were certain games where I thought I would play but that’s the decision of the coach and I am not holding anything against anyone.
“I’m so happy that my path crossed with Manchester United – it’s the club I love with all my heart and for all my life so playing for them was a big privilege that I do not take for granted.
“Just waking up every morning and going into training at Carrington was a thing of joy.
“Meeting the lads, laughing, talking, going inside the dressing room for training and games… every moment is one I am going to cherish.”
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Ex-Watford striker Ighalo was playing for Chinese side Shanghai Greenland Shenhua on a reported £400,000-per-week contract before returning to England.
Tottenham almost signed him before the interest from United – and he could have stayed in the Premier League this year when his time at Old Trafford was up.
He added: “Tottenham was close – my agent called me and told me they had offered to match whatever I was earning but once I heard Manchester United were interested, there was no turning back.
“I couldn’t think about anything else other than making the Manchester United deal work. I was going to have to take a pay cut but I didn’t care, I just wanted the deal to happen.
“There wasn’t much possibility [to stay beyond January 2021] because I wanted more playing time. At my age, I want to play and not just sit on the bench and not have any minutes.
“I didn’t just want to be there picking up a salary – I wanted to be involved so I said to my agent that if an offer comes in, I will look at it and see what’s best for me, which is what I did.
“There was the possibility of West Ham and West Brom to stay in the Premier League, which I thought about.
“But after being at Manchester United, the biggest club in England if not the world, what else could I possibly do in the Premier League?
