By Victor Kanayo
Nigeria’s Super Eagles captain Ahmed Musa has spoken of his plans to stop playing football after he might have returned to the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL).
The country’s men senior national team captain disclosed this via his X handle.
The Return Of An Inspiring Football Star
He said, “I will always talk about the Nigerian league because I was once their product. And that placed me where I am today and till tomorrow, anytime I am going to stop football, I am going to come to Nigeria again, and play for the Nigerian League. But this time, I am going to stay for a long time and play. To show you the love I have for the Nigerian League.”
Musa also spoke of the challenges faced by the Nigerian players contemplating a return home, citing perceptions that leaving Europe for the Nigerian league might signal the end of their careers.
He had returned to the Nigeria’s apex league to play for few months last seasons before he got his present deal.
“Why some of our players do not want to come to Nigeria because they are thinking when you are in Europe, and you come back to Nigeria, e don finish for am (it is over for you) that was why he came back to Nigerian League,” he said.
Career In Glowing Colours
Musa who currently plies his trade with Turkish club Sivasspor had started his career at home soil about 15 years ago when he featured for GBS Football Academy before stints at JUTH FC and Kano Pillars.
It was at Pillars that his career blossomed the highest, before he knicked a contract outside the shores of Nigeria.
Specifically, his highest goals then during 2009/10 football season in the NPFL propelled Pillars to a second-place finish.
His remarkable domestic form earned him a call-up to the Super Eagles as a home-based player, a pivotal moment that established Musa as an advocate for the development of the Nigerian League and the inclusion of its players in the national squad.
With 42 goals in 125 appearances for CSKA Moscow and notable spells at Leicester City and Al Nassr, where he played 50 games before briefly returning to Kano Pillars and later joining Turkish side Fatih Karagumruk, Musa’s career course has been notable.
Following Super Falcons’ Captain Footpath?
Musa’s recent decision and comment is coming few weeks after the captain of Nigeria’s women senior national team, Super Falcons captain Onome Ebi returned home and is currently playing for Naija Ratels in the Nigeria Women Football League.