Former Super Eagles striker Odion Ighalo has not closed the door on a return to the Super Eagles after announcing his retirement at the end of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.
Ighalo was top scorer at the 2019 AFCON with five goals.
In a chat with Brila FM on Wednesday, the Shanghai Shenhua striker said he had been receiving calls from fans to rescind his decision to quit the national team.
According to him, the decision whether or not to come back from retirement is one he may have to reconsider in future.
“The reality is I am retired, and it stays that way for now,” he said.
“But we don’t know what the future holds and it is true that there have been calls for me to come back; we’ll see how it goes.”
The former Watford striker also expressed delight at making the 10-man shortlist for the 2019 African Footballer of the Year award.
According to him, making the list of the best 10 players in Africa was enough recognition for him.
“It’s a privilege to be in the top 10, if somebody told me two years ago or even earlier this year that I would be among the top 10 players contesting the African Footballer of the Year award, I would have said no.
“You know what happened last year at the World Cup, where everybody wrote me off, but coming back from that and being in the top 10, if it’s only this top 10 alone, or even the first 20 in Africa, I will be very grateful to God.
“If I win, or any other person wins, I will still be grateful to God because it’s a great privilege,” Ighalo concluded.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Football Federation has said only the Eagles coach, Gernor Rohr, can determine if Ighalo will come back to the team.
In a chat with our correspondent, NFF spokesman, Ademola Olajire, said Ighalo was not shut out of the Eagles set up at any time.
“Nobody sent Ighalo away from the team. If the coach thinks he can feature in his plans, then it is the coach’s prerogative to take the decision on that,” he told WE4WE REPORTS