CRISTIANO RONALDO has been slammed by former Manchester United star Odion Ighalo for following the money.

Ighalo, who led all scorers in the Saudi Pro League at Al-Hilal last season, asserted that financial considerations were the driving force behind his and other celebrities’ decisions to play in Saudi Arabia.

Odion Ighalo has claimed stars heading to Saudi Arabia are motivated by money

He highlighted Cristiano Ronaldo as one star in particular

In an interview with OmaSportsTV via Sportskeeda, Ighalo said: “When you are young, yes, you play for passion. Back then, you don’t care about money.

“But at my age, I am in the final stretch of my career, I don’t know if it will be one, two years or when God will tell it to stop.

“I know it won’t be more than three years.

“I’ve played for passion all my life, now it’s for money.

“I’m not one of those players who come and say: ‘I play for passion’. Brother, it’s money. At the end of the day, it’s money.”

The 34-year-old then moved on to speak about Ronaldo, who is reportedly on a whopping £173million-a-year at Al-Nassr – dwarfing Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami contract.

He added: “Is Ronaldo still playing out of passion? Ronaldo has earned 100 times more than I have in my entire life and yet he went to Saudi Arabia.

“Did he do that out of passion? It’s for money, bro.”

Ighalo played for United between January 2020 and January 2021, scoring five goals in 23 outings for the Red Devils. Ighalo is currently a free agent after leaving Al-Hilal earlier this summer.

The 38-year-old Ronaldo has scored 14 goals in 19 games since moving to the Middle East.

A number of other celebrities, like Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante, and Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson, have been able to join him as a result of his arrival.