Transfer Centre

Odion Ighalo 'rejected big-money China move'

By Matt Law, Football EditorPublished: 05 February 2016 10:58 PM

Watford striker Odion Ighalo claims that he turned down the chance to earn £300,000 a week in the Chinese Super League in last summer's transfer window.

Watford striker Odion Ighalo has claimed that he turned down a £300,000-a-week contract offer from the Chinese Super League last summer.

The 26-year-old scored 20 times for Watford last season as the capital club were promoted from the Championship to the Premier League.

Ighalo has revealed that an unnamed Chinese club were prepared to offer a substantial financial package to lure him at the start of the season, but he decided to remain at Vicarage Road.

"I have 14 goals in the Premier League, how do I go to China now? I was very close. They made a £10m bid and were offering me over £200,000 a week; a four-year contract. I couldn't sleep for three days. That kind of money is not easy to turn down," Ighalo told the Daily Mail.

"Some teammates in the dressing room were saying, 'You can't miss this chance'. But I don't jump into decisions like that. I prayed about it, and God said it was not for me, no matter how much money it was. I knew God would direct me. When I said I don't want to go, they offered me more money, almost £300,000 a week. I told them it's not about the money."

Ighalo signed a new five-year contract with Watford last September, believed to be worth in the region of £30,000 a week.