Super Eagles and Al-Kholood central defender, William Troost-Ekong, has credited Al Wehda forward, Odion Ighalo, for his move to the Saudi Pro League, Soccernet.ng reports.
The 31-year-old won the Greek Super League title with PAOK Thessaloniki last season, although he missed a major part of the second half of the season.
This happened because Ekong suffered a torn bicep femoris, which is basically the outside part of the hamstring, during Nigeria’s campaign at the AFCON 2023 competition in Ivory Coast.
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Ekong joined Al-Kholood from PAOK last season for €2m and saw his team finish in 9th place on the Saudi Pro League table in his debut campaign.
In an interview with the Saudi Pro League in Ar Rass, the former FC Watford man revealed he picked Ighalo’s brains when he got offers from the Middle East, and revealed the experience has been a pleasant one so far.
“It’s given me great experiences. Football is the thing that connects people,” the ex-Udinese man said in quotes revealed by One Football.
“It’s what’s always made me feel welcome wherever I’ve been, whether that has been playing for my club or also all the travelling I’ve done with the national team.
“I’ve learned different languages; I speak four or five now. Not Arabic yet, but that’s something that I’ll try and work on in the next years. It’s just been a great way to understand different cultures. I try to make that my power.”
“Picking Ighalo’s brain made sense. He was my teammate in the Super Eagles, who’s obviously well known here and understands the landscape, the culture, the league, so I tried to get as much information as I could.
“It was as new for me from the first day that I landed here in Qassim at the airport and made my way over Ar Rass, and I haven’t looked back since.”
Reflecting on the culture shift from playing in Europe to Saudi Arabia, the AFCON 2023 MVP looked inwards to understand the nature of the people and then embraced it.
“I’m not a very judgmental person; I always like to form my own opinions. I’ve been quite lucky to play in different countries, and all the places have always pleasantly surprised me.
“The biggest thing is that people really embrace you when you come here. I’ve made some great Saudi friends as much as I have my teammates who are from other countries.”
“From the moment I came here, they took me out to dinner, took me to drink coffee together with them. People have just been very welcoming.
“It’s given me more time to focus on our job here and really try to develop myself, not just on the pitch, but also the time that I have now.
“It’s given me a lot more free time to explore and also work on other things off the pitch, like my charity, for example, or other business things. It’s been a good experience,” Ekong concluded.
Ekong is back in Nigeria, and is set to organise another charity game for his foundation at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena in Lagos.