‘I’ve never been to Lagos’ – Super Eagles striker reveals shocking truth about his lifestyle

Super Eagles and Real Sociedad striker, Sadiq Mesbah Umar, has revealed that he has never been to Lagos, the widely referred economic capital of Nigeria, Soccernet.ng reports.

The 6 ft 4in. striker was born and bred in the northern part of Nigeria. A Kaduna native to the core, the forward revealed that he prefers going back home (Kaduna) to spend time at the end of the season.

Sadiq revealed that he feels thankful for the privilege that football has given him, with the ability to live a lifestyle that pleases him, as he relishes his life in San Sebastian, but he firmly attaches that there is no place like home.

For a well-travelled man, he has played in Nigeria, Croatia, Italy, and now, Spain. He donned jerseys of clubs with great history, like AS Roma, Rangers, Partizan Belgrade, and Real Sociedad.

Speaking to OmaSportsTV, the forward mentioned how Kaduna, his home, is very close to his heart.

“Like other people, I’m just proud of where I come from. I like to go home for holidays, just to chill with my people. For me, I have never been to Lagos.” he said

He did clarify later though, that he had passed through Lagos once, due to a coincidence and without intentionality, but other than that, he’ll always pick Kaduna.

He added: “I only went there once, due to transit. I was on a plane that was supposed to land in Abuja, but due to the weather, it had to land in Lagos, and after it landed in Lagos, we had to schedule another flight so I can go to Abuja, so whenever people talk about it, I don’t really know, but they say it’s a good place.

For every Nigerian, home or abroad, it is almost impossible to detach being a Nigerian from being a Lagosian, and for Sadiq, this was the case as well.

“As a Nigerian, when they first see you, the first place they identify you with is Lagos is a very popular place. I feel better in Kaduna because that’s where my heart is. It is where I was born.” Sadiq said.

Umar made his big move in 2022 after scoring forty goals in seventy games for UD Almeria in Spain, moving to Real Sociedad, before damaging his Anterior Cruciate Ligament. Back and fit, he’s set to score goals for Sociedad this season.