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Nigeria senior team captain William Troost-Ekong’s recent move to Saudi Arabia has sparked speculation that more players from the team could follow suit and move to the higher-paying league, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.
Ekong has abandoned the lure of playing in the UEFA Champions League with Greek club PAOK in favour of a move to newly promoted Al Khalood in the Saudi Pro League for a salary we understand is roughly three times what he was earning with the Greek champions.
Saudi Arabia have managed to attract many top players to their league thanks to their ability to pay significantly more than most teams in European leagues. One player who turned down their advances was Nigerian international winger Samuel Chukwueze.
Chukwueze revealed in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport that he received an offer of around $10 million a year before making the decision to stay and join AC Milan from Villarreal last summer.
“Money? If it had been a problem, I would have signed for Saudi Arabia. A year ago they wanted me. 10 million net? No, it was a lot more,” he said.
“My mind was only set on Milan. My agent told me: ‘Look, there’s money…’. But I didn’t bother: ‘I don’t want to go anywhere else’. So I gave up. If that money comes, it will come. The most important thing now is to believe in myself, I’m still young, I want to succeed, I have to stay in Europe.”
Mohamed Mowiz Suleiman
