Odion Jude Ighalo is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Saudi Pro League club Al-Wehda and the Nigeria national team. Read also: Fun Facts About Nigerian Singer, Yemi Alade
He was born on June 16, 1989, in Lagos, Nigeria, and grew up in the ghetto area of Ajegunle, a rough neighborhood notorious for producing many musicians and ghetto kings.
Ighalo started from the slum and grew up in a poor family setting. He was determined to play football even when his father cautioned against it. As a toddler, he never thought of playing for major football clubs, but his talent propelled him to the big stage of football.
He started his career at Nigerian clubs Prime and Julius Berger, and moved to Norwegian club Lyn in 2007.
A year later, he was signed by Italian club Udinese, spending most of his tenure on two separate loan spells with Spanish club Granada. Read also: Fun Facts About Nigerian Singer, Morravey
In 2014, he signed for Championship club Watford and was integral in the club’s promotion to the Premier League in the 2014–15 season. In January 2017, Ighalo joined Chinese Super League club Changchun Yatai for a reported £20 million, before moving onto Shanghai Shenhua.
In January 2020, Ighalo returned to the Premier League, joining Manchester United on loan, initially until the end of the 2019–20 season; the loan was then extended until January 2021. Ighalo made his debut for the Nigeria national team in March 2015 against Uganda.
He is a lifelong Manchester United supporter, and his transfer to Manchester United caught many football fanatics by surprise.
He was formerly married to Sonia Adesuwa and they have three children, two sons, and one daughter.
Outside of football, Ighalo is known for his philanthropic gestures, such as spending over N500 million in December 2017 to build an orphanage home in Ijegun, Ajegunle, where he was reared as a youngster.