Nigeria international Odion Ighalo has left Saudi Arabia Pro League outfit Al Hilal after the expiry of his contract.
A statement from the club confirmed the exit of the 33-year-old Ighalo, who signed for them from another Saudi club, Al Shabab in January 2022.
“Thanks @ighalojude. Wishing you good luck and success. #AlHilal,” read part of the tweet on the club’s official Twitter handle.
On moving to Al Hilal, Ighalo won the Saudi League title, finished the same season as the league’s top scorer with 24 goals while on February 26, 2023, he scored four goals in a 7-0 win over Al-Duhail in the Champions League semi-final.
Last season, he won the King’s Cup with the Blue Waves while this season he scored 19 league goals from 27 appearances but they were not enough to help Al Hilal defend their title.
Ighalo’s Al Hilal finished third with 59 points from 30 matches, while Al-Ittihad were crowned champions after amassing 72 points and Al-Nasr came second with 67 points.
On January 31, 2020, Ighalo returned to the Premier League, joining Manchester United on loan until the end of the season, and in doing so, became the first Nigerian player, and the seventh African, to join the Red Devils.
He opted to wear the number 25 shirt, previously worn by Man United’s first and longest-serving African player, Quinton Fortune of South Africa and after three substitute appearances, Ighalo made his full debut in their Europa League round-of-32 second-leg match against Club Brugge on February 27.