Super Eagles and Real Sociedad striker, Sadiq Umar, has cried out about the unfair treatment Nigerian players get from the fans whenever they play for the country, Soccernet.ng reports.
The 27-year-old was a surprise inclusion in Augustine Eguavoen’s squadlist for the just concluded AFCON 2025 qualifiers against Benin Republic and Rwanda.
Sadiq is yet to score a goal this season, and his inclusion raised eyebrows. In response, the former Rangers man revealed it’s tough to play in front of the Nigerian crowd, not just for him, but for his teammates as well.
“If things continue like this, there are lots of players that will not like to play for the Super Eagles. When we come to play here, it’s not about the money, it’s for the love, you understand. Where you feel is your home, they tell you it’s not.
When you go to Europe to play, you’re loved and supported there, but when you come to your country, your people begin to ask what you’re doing and who brought you, even telling you to return to Europe.
Back in the days, they always told us to be careful because they won’t let us be ourselves in Europe, but now, it has nothing to do with the Europeans, we are the ones killing ourselves.
There are some of my teammates (Super Eagles) that are down after every game we play because the fans are killing them on social media. Even if you don’t see comments, your name still gets mentioned.
Football these days is about mentality. If you’re not mentally tough, you cannot play football,” the Real Sociedad striker said in an interview with OmaSports TV.
Despite Sadiq’s inclusion in Nigeria’s squad, he played just a minute of football, coming off the bench in Nigeria’s loss to Rwanda.