Al-Hilal have confirmed that Odion Ighalo will exit the club this summer, fuelling speculation about Lionel Messi’s move to Saudi Arabia.
Al-Hilal have announced that striker Ighalo will leave the club after an 18-month spell. The news comes amid heavy speculation that Messi is set to join the Saudi club. His contract with Paris Saint-Germain recently came to an end, and Al-Hilal hope to announce his arrival in a matter of days. Currently, Saudi clubs are only allowed to register seven foreign players; as a result, many people are interpreting Ighalo’s exit as a sign that Al-Hilal are making room for Messi in the first team.
Ighalo made a serious impact on the Saudi Pro League during his time there, scoring 42 goals in 57 games for Al-Hilal. The Nigeria international is never afraid of a fresh challenge, with his loan spell at Manchester United preceded by stints in the Chinese Super League with Changchun Yatai and Shanghai Shenhua, in the Premier League with Watford, and in La Liga with Granada. Who knows where he’ll end up next?
