'SHE PRAYED I'D JOIN UTD' Man utd New boy Odion Ighalo vows to dedicate every goal he scores to beloved sister Mary ahead of debut
ODION IGHALO has his beloved sister Mary’s name inscribed on his football boots.
It is also etched into a white T-shirt he will wear under the
Manchester United jersey he will proudly don for the first time at
Chelsea on Monday.
But
United’s new loan signing admits he is struggling to come to terms with her sudden death, breaking down in tears when he is on his own.
Speaking for the first time about the December tragedy,
Ighalo revealed: “I feel very emotional because it has not really struck me that my sister is gone forever and I am never going to see her again.
"Sometimes when I am alone and I just remember her, I have one sharp pain in my heart.
"My twin sister, Akhere, will call me, crying, saying she misses her and, sometimes when I am alone, I cry too.
"It is a very painful loss but I am trying to be strong as a man."
The Nigerian striker, 30, posted a poignant picture of himself with Mary on Instagram, announcing her shock death, accompanied by the words “RIP sister” together with a broken heart emoji.
Married Mary Atole collapsed at her home in Canada on the morning of December 12, just as she was getting her children ready for school. She was only 43.
Ighalo added: “It was a very painful moment.
“She just collapsed and died before the kids could even call for an ambulance. When the medics arrived they tried to revive her but she was already gone.”
His heartache is shared by Akhere, elder sister Beatrice, brothers Austin and Moses and mother Martina.
Ighalo said: “Although she was my older sister, Mary was like a mother to all of us.
“Even when I was young she would look after me. She tried to make everybody happy, make sure everyone was OK.”
Mary was such a passionate United fan a framed picture of her in a Red Devils shirt, with her name on the back, hung on the wall of her home.
They had grown up together in Ajegunle, a district in the heart of Nigeria’s capital city Lagos.
Ighalo added: “My sister was a strong United fan. All of us grew up watching Manchester United, we all supported them.
“Mary's husband followed Chelsea, while their children were
Manchester City and
Liverpool fans, but she stayed loyal to United.
“She always prayed I would sign for United. Even when she came to watch me in the Premier League playing for Watford she hoped I would join United.
“The painful part for me is that I now HAVE signed for United, but she is not here to see it.
“However, I know she is up there watching me.
“That is why I am going to play with her name on my boots, so she is always with me at Old Trafford or in any game for Manchester United.
“Every goal I score from now until I finish my career will be dedicated to God and to her.
“I have written her name on my special white T-shirt and put her name on my boots. I want to show the world she is always with me.
“It means she can feel me playing at Old Trafford, feel that dream we all prayed for, even though she is not here to see it.
“But she will be on my feet, assisting me on the pitch.”
https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/10967614/odion-ighalo-man-utd-sister-mary-dedicate-goals/