Why Oshoala left Dalian Quanjian for new journey at Barcelona

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The Nigerian was forced to leave the Chinese club, initially on loan, in the winter of 2019 before securing a permanent move

Barcelona striker Asisat Oshoala has revealed she left Dalian Quanjian after the Chinese Women's Super League club "had one or two challenges"

Oshoala joined Barcelona temporarily in January 2019 for a loan spell, after Farid Benstiti's side advised her to leave the Chinese club.

The 25-year-old shined during her loan outing in Spain, playing 11 games and scoring eight goals in the Primera Iberdrola, and she was rewarded with a three-year contract in the summer of 2019.

She revealed there were offers from several European clubs after she won four trophies in China, however, Barcelona’s interest convinced her to make the switch.

"My team [Dalian Quanjian] in China had one or two challenges," Oshoala said in recent Instagram Live session with Channels TV.

"So, we came to the conclusion that I will see what I can do and I spoke to my agency.

"We decided that I could move to Europe for six months or thereabout then come back to China with hopes that my team's situation will have settled a bit before then.

"I gave them [my agency] a couple of teams I will like to play and Barcelona responded fine and brought a good offer and I decided to move there and return to my [Chinese] team after.

"It was a tough one for me because I only came to just play a half-season in Europe and after then go back to China but it became more interesting after the loan expired."

In December, the three-time Chinese champions were dissolved following its financial crisis after the arrest of Quanjian Group's owner Shu Yuhui in January 2019.

After agreeing on a permanent deal with Barcelona, Oshoala scored 26 goals in 25 games for the Catalans, including 20 in 19 league outings, and won two titles, including the Spanish diadem this season.

During her 12 months under the tutelage of coach Lluis Cortes, the Super Falcon also won her fourth Africa Women's Player of the Year and she explained her decision to stay put at Nou Camp.

"Barcelona showed interest to keep me and it was a little tough for my team in China but we later came to an agreement," she continued.

"And I decided to remain in Europe with Barcelona to see how things pan out."

Oshoala is keen to lead the Spanish champions to European success as they compete in a mini-tournament of the Champions League final stages from August 21-30 in Spain.

2020-06-29 23:00:11

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