Nigeria international striker, Odion Ighalo says he almost moved to the Chinese Premier League at the start of the season.
The attacker revealed that he rejected a summer move to China worth almost £300,000-a-week to chase his Premier League dream.
Ighalo, who has scored 14 times in the top-flight this season, had the chance to join the money-spinning Chinese league over the summer.
The Super Eagles man was promised a sum of £40 million over the course of a four-year contract as the Hornets were on the brink of returning to the top-flight.
Ighalo declined, but the offers kept coming, each increasing his pay packet. The latest was double the original.
The 26-year-old admitted he almost made the switch when he was given permission to speak to Hebei China Fortune last summer, but is glad he remained at Vicarage Road.
“I was very close,” he told the Daily Mail. “They made a £10 million bid and were offering me over £200,000 a week; a four-year contract. I couldn’t sleep for three days. That kind of money is not easy to turn down.
“Some teammates in the dressing room were saying, ‘You can’t miss this chance.’ But I don’t jump into decisions like that.
“I prayed about it, and God said it was not for me, no matter how much money it was. I knew God would direct me. When I said I don’t want to go, they offered me more money, almost £300,000 a week. I told them it’s not about the money,” he said.
Ighalo has since gone on to become one of the standout performers in this year’s competition, having signed a five-year deal in September, thought to be worth around £30,000-a-week, a 10th of the sum he could have earned in China.
His impressive performances have steered Watford into an impressive ninth place in the Premier League, having already picked up nine wins this season.
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