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On-loan Manchester United forward Odion Ighalo has told ESPN he would be interested in playing Major League Soccer before he retires.
The former Nigeria international, who is contracted to Chinese Super League side Shanghai Shenhua, is expected to leave Old Trafford at the end of this month when his loan deal ends.
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Asked where he sees himself playing in the future, he said a move to a club in the United States would be of interest.
“I have been watching MLS and the league is doing well and I would like to play in the MLS,” Ighalo told ESPN. “I have to wait for offers and if the opportunity arises, I will take it because the league is doing well and it is a good life and I would love it.
“Lots of players go there. Even Gonzalo Higuain from Juventus is there, also Giovanni dos Santos. Why not? I would like to go there if an opportunity arises. Being an experienced player, going there, doing well. It is an opportunity if it comes for me.”
“The David Beckham club [Inter Miami] is growing, so if an opportunity rises why not?”
Ighalo joined United at the end of the 2020 January transfer window and said making the move was a dream come true. The former Watford forward said he will look back on his stint at Old Trafford with pride, despite only making one Premier League appearance this season.
“It was a good one and a tough one, before I came to United I never thought I would play,” Ighalo said of his time with United. “I’m a Reds fan.
“If you ask anybody where I grew up, we fight because of Manchester United. We quarrel and argue. So when my team didn’t do well they would start to insult and argue with me and I cried. I can tell you I’m the happiest man on Earth for my dream to come true, I fulfilled my dream.
“I remember the night my agent called me to tell me Manchester United wanted me, it was 10 p.m.-11 p.m. Shanghai Time. I was under my bed naked, I didn’t sleep until daybreak.
“I don’t care about a pay cut, I just want go to Manchester United because this is my dream. I was under my bed shivering and walking around my room and I did not sleep until 6 a.m.
“I’m fulfilled as a football player, if I don’t achieve anything from now when I finish my career I am fulfilled.”