Former Premier League striker Odion Ighalo has claimed Crystal Palace once tabled a £16 million bid for his services while Spurs offered him a £200,000-a-week contract, speaking to Elegbete Sports.
He may have failed to match the impact Zlatan Ibrahimovic or Edinson Cavani made at Old Trafford but Ighalo – a boyhood United fanatic – could certainly walk away from his dream club with his head held high.
The Nigeria international made just 23 appearances under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer before moving to Saudi outfit Al-Shabab in February.
But Ighalo certainly made the most of his moment in the spotlight, scoring twice in a cup win over Derby County, channelling his inner Tony Yeboah with a crossbar-grazing wonder-goal in Europe and helping to set up Scott McTominay’s Manchester derby stunner with a clever back-heel in the build-up.
Why didn’t Ighalo sign for Spurs or Crystal Palace?
The former Watford ace recently admitted he had received offers from both West Ham United and West Bromwich Albion a few months ago.
And, if things had turned out differently, he may have ended up leading the line at Palace or Tottenham.
“I know Crystal Palace and one other team came for me (when I was at Watford). Crystal Palace were bidding £16m to buy me but they turned it down because they had teams from China coming (in with big bids),” Ighalo explains, before elaborating on why a 2020 switch to north London hit the buffers.
“When Tottenham heard Manchester United were in talks, they started calling my agent because Harry Kane was injured then,” he adds.
“I am a man of principle. I got a pay cut going to Manchester United. Tottenham were ready to pay me all the wages I was earning in China (£200,000 a week).
“They were ready to pay a higher loan fee than Manchester United, so my director in Shanghai Shenhua was trying to force me to accept Tottenham Hotspur.
“I told my agent I didn’t care, he should make the Manchester United deal happen if they were serious.
“I didn’t want to speak to Jose (Mourinho) because, if I speak to him, I have the feeling somebody can easily manipulate me because I don’t want to offend anyone.”
Tottenham would also go on to miss out on the likes of Willian Jose during that tortuous transfer window.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
