Super Eagles captain blames passionate Nigerian Fans for the exit of Mikel Obi, Victor Moses, Odion Ighalo

Super Eagles captain blames passionate Nigerian Fans for the exit of Mikel Obi, Victor Moses, Odion Ighalo

Super Eagles captain Ahmed Musa has blamed the passionate Nigerian fans for the decision of Mikel Obi, Victor Moses, and Odion Ighalo to quit the national team early.

Musa made the revelation ahead of Nigeria's match against Zimbabwe in a matchday two World Cup qualifier at Stade Huye in Butare, Rwanda.

The former Leicester City forward said that the negative media reports and social media abuse directed at the trio played a major role in their decision to retire from international football.

"We have a lot of players who should not have retired from the team when they did but it was what the media reported that forced them out," Musa said.

He added that Nigeria still needs experienced players like Mikel Obi and Victor Moses to guide the younger players in the team.

"As you can see, we still need someone like Mikel Obi in the team, we still need Victor Moses. It's not all about young players in the team because you need players to take them along, but right now we don't have that," Musa said.

Mikel retired from the Super Eagles team in 2019 after Nigeria finished third at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt while Moses quit the team after the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Ighalo, who was the Super Eagles' top scorer at the 2019 AFCON, announced his retirement from international football in 2021 after receiving death threats on social media following Nigeria's elimination from the African Nations Championship.

Musa's comments are likely to reignite the debate about the role of fans in the retirement of Nigerian football stars.

Some fans have defended their right to criticize players who perform poorly, while others have argued that the level of abuse directed at players is unacceptable.

Musa has called on Nigerian fans to be more supportive of the Super Eagles players and to refrain from personal attacks.

"I know we are passionate fans but we need to be more supportive of our players, especially when they are not doing well," Musa said.

"We need to remember that they are human beings and they feel the pressure too. We should not be abusing them on social media or in the media. We should be encouraging them and helping them to improve."

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