First Man United African player influenced my shirt number decision – Ighalo

In his first interview as a Manchester United player, Odion Ighalo, has revealed why he will wear the number 25 shirt throughout a six-month loan spell with his beloved Reds.

The passionate Nigerian striker has joined the club on a temporary basis from Chinese side Shanghai Greenland Shenhua, to boost Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s squad for the rest of the 2019/20 season.

Speaking about his arrival, in a must-watch interview with MUTV, Ighalo provides an insight into his thinking when presented with a list of squad numbers that were available for selection.
“Well, I think that number 25 and number 19 were available,” says 30-year-old Odion.

“When I was at Watford I wore the number 24 and it was not available.


“In Shanghai I had number nine and that was not available. So I said to myself that 24 plus one is 25, so I said ‘okay let me go with the number 25 instead of 19’.”

United’s first-ever African player, Quinton Fortune, also wore the number 25 shirt during his six seasons as a player and Ighalo admits the former South Africa international influenced his decision.

“Yeah, because I watched Quinton Fortune played for Man United, he was a great player and I know he put on the number 25, so I said to myself that number 25 is good,” Odion explains.

“Even though I didn’t get the number that I was looking for, 25 is a perfect number because it is one above the number that I wore when I was in the Premier League.”