When Gozie Ugwu got the call there was surprise but minimal hesitation.
The journeyman striker from Oxford had reached the end of a contract at Greenock Morton and was waiting for the right offer when he was contacted by an agent, via another player, asking if he would be interested in spending a season in Saudi Arabia.
The “massive wages” on offer, Ugwu says, were unmatched and despite hearing “horror stories” about imported players being left high and dry elsewhere in the Gulf he decided to pack his bags. “The worst case scenario was it doesn’t work out and you come back home,” he tells Mirror Football .
So a 30-year-old who had moved clubs across England and Scotland 14 times in a decade headed for Jeddah within 48 hours of the offer to spend a year in the Saudi second tier.
Ugwu was aware of the media coverage around the country’s human rights issues and he briefly considered them before committing. He expected to be overwhelmed by rules when he arrived but was quickly struck by the western influence on the country’s second biggest city. “It even has a Nando’s,” he says before qualifying his view by adding that life in the big city is much different to being in a smaller town.
“Jeddah is probably more open. There are women working, you see them driving. It's not what I thought it would be like. I thought before coming I wouldn't be able to wear shorts. But that's not the case. Most of the big shops in London are here. My experience has not been that it's closed at all. They also seem very welcoming to foreigners.”
There are, however, some elements of the culture that Ugwu has found unusual. Not least training being stopped daily for prayer. “They will pause for 10 or 15 minutes,” Ugwu says.
The quality of play is better than he imagined, even if sometimes the dressing room can be too relaxed and his bustling frame has been punished by strict referees.
“It’s surprisingly very good,” Ugwu adds. “The coaching methods are different. It's less intense. The changing room is very laid back, chilled. And football wise, it's fast paced but not very physical. The problem is I'm a big guy and there are a lot of fouls given against me that wouldn't be given in England.”
Ugwu has hit double figures for the season and his contract runs out in June. But he says the past ten months have meant there are already several interested parties across the Gulf keen to sign him next season.
He is open to remaining in Saudi and would recommend it to former team-mates looking for a new adventure because, unlike some neighbouring countries, the game is more entrenched in society.
“In this part of the world it's the biggest football nation,” he says. “They absolutely love it. Every game is live on TV. Sometimes it's all you hear, it’s hard to escape. They're trying to expand it. You can see it in the infrastructure. They are trying to brew something.”
Ugwu had no idea at the time that he would be taking the path less travelled months before Cristiano Ronaldo ’s sensational departure from Manchester United for an Al-Nassr team stumping up a whopping £175m per year. Since then a stream of household names have been linked with summer moves - headlined by Lionel Messi but also including Hugo Lloris, the Tottenham goalkeeper, and Sergio Busquets, who is departing Barcelona.
Ugwu adds: “The Ronaldo move has been massive because it's brought so much attention and within the next few years I think there will be a lot more big names coming towards the end of their careers making a move.
“It reminds me of when the MLS was starting off. Before you know it a lot of top players will be coming here. It's no secret that the wages here are massive if you know what I mean. Within the next couple of years there'll be a lot more internationally known players coming here.”
And what about the impression of Saudi-owned Newcastle on the ground? Are there black and white shirts on every corner? Not quite. “They watch the Premier League but they're as interested in their league here and the domestic game,” Ugwu adds.
