“MY NIGERIAN FANS ARE LOUDER THAN MY CLUB FANS, THEY ASK ME FOR MONEY INSTEAD OF AUTOGRAPHS” – IWOBI

In an interview with the Guardian, Arsenal youngster and Super
Eagles player, Alex Iwobi, said he was shocked by his reception
when he arrived to play for Nigeria and says supporters in the
African country are more likely to ask for football boots a
nd
money, rather than autographs.
“Everyone appreciates you [in Nigeria], you’re almost like a
king!” he told the Guardian. “When I arrived at the airport I
thought, I’ll just have my earphones in, but everyone was like
‘Iwobi! Iwobi!’ Oh gosh. Hi guys!
“I didn’t know what to expect. It was just mad. I always go with
Kelechi Iheanacho. When we go we get escorted. Because I’m
not used to the Nigerian culture as much as they are, they do
help me with it. They help me with the fans. .
The fans are very different there. They don’t ask me for
autographs, they ask for boots, money. At my debut we played
in a stadium that holds 30,000 and there was 60,000 – I don’t
understand how. .
People were standing on the floodlights, on the scoreboard,” he
added. “I was thinking, ‘What? This isn’t even safe! But people
there will do anything to watch the match. .
Sometimes in a Premier League game the fans are a bit quiet
but in Nigeria you just hear trumpets, everything. The
atmosphere is so different compared to England.”

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