Odion Ighalo: All you need to know about the Super Eagles goal machine

All you need to know about Super Eagles striker Odion Ighalo

Odion Ighalo: All you need to know about the Super Eagles goal machine

Tunde Young 10:31 - 02.06.2023

Odion Ighalo is one of the most successful Nigerian players both on and off the field. Here are notable pieces of information about him including his biography, career, profile, age, salary, net worth, marital status, house, cars, pictures, latest news, transfer news etc.

Who is Odion Ighalo?

Odion Ighalo is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Saudi club Al Hilal and the Nigeria national team, the Super Eagles.

He was born in Lagos, Nigeria on June 16, 1989, and has had a long and successful career which has seen him play for multiple clubs in top European leagues and also in Asia.

This article will look at Odion Ighalo's net worth, age, salary, wife, cars, social media profiles, etc. Dig in and find out more about the striker's successful career.

Super Eagles and Al Hilal striker Odion Ighalo
Super Eagles and Al Hilal striker Odion Ighalo

Odion Ighalo profile

Full name: Odion Jude Ighalo

Gender: Male

Date of birth: 16 June 1989

Age: 33 years old, as of May 2023

Place of birth: Lagos, Nigeria

Nationality: Nigerian

Religion: Christianity

Height: 5'11"

Mother: Martina Ighalo

Father: Paul Ighalo

Marital status: Married

Wife: Sonia Ighalo

Net worth: Estimated to be $38.5 million

Market value: €2 million according to Transfermarkt

Instagram: @ighalojude

Twitter: @ighalojude

Odion Ighalo Biography

Odion Jude Ighalo was born and bred in Ajegunle, a ghetto in Lagos, Nigeria to his mother Martina and father Paul Ighalo and was raised alongside his brother, Daniel Ighalo.

Odion Ighalo is number 8 on the Top 10 Super Eagles all-time top scorers list
Odion Ighalo is number 8 on the Top 10 Super Eagles all-time top scorers list

Ighalo started his career at Nigerian club Prime and moved on to another Nigerian club Julius Berger before finally getting his first European move in 2007 to Norwegian club Lyn. 

A year later, he was signed by Italian club Udinese but found game time hard to come by and then spent most of his tenure on two separate loan spells with Spanish club Granada.

Ighalo scored 16 goals to help Granada seal promotion to La Liga after which he also joined Watford in the English Championship.

He was integral in the club's promotion to the Premier League in the 2014–15 season where he led the Hornets with 16 goals in 37 games in his first Premier League season. 

In January 2017, Ighalo joined Chinese Super League club Changchun Yatai for a reported £20 million where he scored 36 goals in 55 games in his two years. 

One more year in China followed with Shanghai Shenhua where he scored 10 goals in 19 games and as such attracted the attention of his favourite club Manchester United. 

In January 2020, Ighalo returned to England, joining Manchester United on loan, initially until the end of the 2019–20 season; the loan was then extended until January 2021 and he managed five goals in 23 games for the club.

His next adventure was in Saudi Arabia with Al Shabab where he scored 22 goals in 32 games across two seasons after which he joined another team in the same country, Al Hilal where he still plays.

Ighalo led Al Hilal to the Saudi Professional Football League title in his first season in 2021/22 also finishing as the top scorer in the league.

He still plays for Al Hilal and just finished the season with 26 goals in 37 games across all competitions.

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What is Odion Ighalo's net worth

Ighalo’s net worth is estimated to be around £30–40 million which makes him the third-richest Nigerian footballer

How much is Odion Ighalo’s salary in Saudi Arabia

He reportedly earns around £135,000 weekly at Al-Hilal which is less than what he earned at Manchester United.

He reportedly earned a whopping £300,000 according to Salary Sport which is astonishing for someone who had a bench role and played a bit part for the club.

Is Odion Ighalo married?

Yes, the Super Eagles star is married to his wife, Sonia, and they have been together for 13 years now. The couple is blessed with three kids, two sons and one daughter.

Although there are reports that the couple are currently separated due to marital issues but not legally divorced as far as the general public is concerned.

Odion Ighalo and his wife, Sonia.
Odion Ighalo and his wife, Sonia.

Where is Odion Ighalo from?

The 33-year-old was born in Lagos and was raised in Edo State where his family is from and hails from the Esan region.

Odion Ighalo Super Eagles career

Odion Ighalo made his debut for the Super Eagles on March 24, 2015, after he was called up by then interim coach Daniel Amokachi as a reward for his impressive performances at Watford.

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He made his debut for the team on the 25th in a 1-0 defeat at home to Uganda in a friendly game.

He currently has 37 appearances and counting for the Super Eagles and has returned 16 goals, making him the joint-seventh-highest scorer in Nigerian national team history.

The 33-year-old has not won a trophy with Nigeria, the Bronze medal at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt remains his biggest achievement with the Super Eagles.

Ighalo also won the Golden Boot at that tournament with five goals in seven games for Nigeria.

The Ajegunle-born striker has also represented his country at one FIFA World Cup which was the 2018 edition in Russia where he featured in all three group-stage games against Croatia, Iceland and Argentina where he failed to score and Nigeria got knocked out.

He announced his international retirement in 2019 but was recalled to the team two years later by manager Gernot Rohr to aid Nigeria’s 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification bid which ended in failure.

Odion Ighalo was recalled out of retirement by Gernot Rohr in 2021
Odion Ighalo was recalled out of retirement by Gernot Rohr in 2021

Ighalo has never won a trophy with Nigeria, the bronze medal in 2019 remains his biggest achievement with the team.

Odion Ighalo individual awards

The 33-year-old striker has enjoyed a long and successful career so far laden with multiple individual accolades.

He was named the Premier League Player of the Month for December 2015 for his stellar performances for Watford.

Odion Ighalo was the Premier League Player of the Month for December 2015
Odion Ighalo was the Premier League Player of the Month for December 2015

Ighalo was also in the Africa Cup of Nations Team of the Tournament for Egypt 2019 where he also won the Golden Boot with five goals.

He has also won the Player of the Month award for the Saudi Professional League three times in April and May 2021 and then March 2022.

He also won the Golden Boot for the Saudi Professional League in the 2021/22 season for Al Hilal while also being named in the team of the season.

Odion Ighalo social media

Odion Ighalo is on Instagram @ighalojude where he has 1.2 million followers and is an active user with 776 posts. His Instagram posts include pictures of him on and off the pitch, showing off his lavish lifestyle in Saudi Arabia.

He is also on Twitter @Ighalojude where he has just over 947k followers with 3,552 tweets where he is also quite active.

Odion Ighalo latest news

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