“A home to us” – Forgotten Super Eagles star reveals why he left Europe to join Kano Pillars

Super Eagles defender Shehu Abdullahi has revealed that he chose to return to Nigeria Football Premier League side Kano Pillars due to his love for the club, Soccernet.ng reports.

Abdullahi completed his transfer to former NPFL champions Kano Pillars earlier this month. The 31-year-old’s move came after he failed to find a new club in Europe.

His last contract was at Bulgarian side Levski Sofia. He joined the club in September 2022, but his contract was terminated in January 2023. Since then, Abdullahi was without a club until he joined Kano Pillars earlier this month.

Normally, when Europe-based players fail to get contracts abroad, they opt to remain there and wait it out. However, the former Bursaspor star chose to return to the Kano Pillars, where he started his career, to continue his career.

In a recent interview, the 31-year-old defender, who can also function as a defensive midfielder, revealed that he chose to return to Kano Pillars due to his love for the club.

“I’m happy to be here, Kano Pillars is our club, everyone is proud of it. It is always a dream to see us come back to where we started our journey,” Abdullahi told Pillars’ media team.

“Kano is a home to us, they always welcome us. They were always sending us messages when we were playing in Europe to come back to play. We are happy we’re here, and hopefully we’ll make them happy as well.”

Abdullahi was on the bench for Kano Pillars in their last game against Sunshine Stars. Fellow returnee, Ahmed Musa, scored a brace to give Sai Masu Gida a 2-0 win. 

Next up for them is a game at Akwa United, and Abdullahi will be hoping to make his debut for the team soon.

Abdullahi used to be a mainstay in Nigeria’s backline, but he has not played for the Super Eagles since 2022.