Why I Didn’t Sign For Chelsea

Super Eagles forward Emmanuel Emenike spoke to MTNFootball.com about his plans to achieve greatness with Spartak Moscow, and as such interests from top clubs like Chelsea and Liverpool should wait for now. 

You recently signed a four-year deal with Spartak to remain in Russia till 2016. Is that a reward for all your hard work? 

I believe it was my hard work that made the club to give me this deal.

Your new deal makes you the highest paid player in the history of Spartak Moscow, how do you feel? 

I thank God for everything. That was the reward I got for my loyalty to the club. The club president really appreciates me, he loves seeing me score goals and appreciates my contribution to the team.  I also believe the deal was to make teams keep away from me. I am grateful to club for that honour.

Would that be why you reportedly shunned bigger teams like Liverpool, Spurs, Chelsea and lately Lazio in Italy? 

That was because I have unfinished business with Spartak, and I want to complete it. The likes of Chelsea and Liverpool approached me, I think they can wait till 2016.

What do you mean by unfinished business?

To win the Russian league title and help the team in UEFA Champions League which is the ultimate and I wish to do more this coming season than last season.

Is it that you don’t like where the offers came from, England?

No, that is not the issue, I have my eyes on the Premier League and La Liga probably with Real Madrid, that will be in the future, but for now it is Spartak Moscow all the way.

Your buyout clause in the new contract is said to be €42m, do you think any club can afford that? 

I am not ready to move at least for now, because I need to pay the fans and the entire club back by scoring goals that will put me in the record book. I am more focused on the new season and to give my best. I am delighted to remain here. The fans will see my best in the new season.

In your first season in Russia, you scored 13 goals as one of the top scorers and helped your team secure a UEFA Champions League place, how will you review the season? 

I give glory to God for making it possible for me to achieve that in my first season in Russia. To be frank with you, the Russian league is very difficult and tough than people would think. I will say last season was great for me, it was not easy at the beginning, but I quickly adapted with the help of my team mates and the fans. They showed me love and gave me confidence to go all out and improve whenever I am on the pitch.  Apart from my goals, securing the UEFA Champions League ticket was the highest point of my career last season.

Any regrets from last term? 

The only regret was we were not crowned champions. But now I want to win some trophies next season.

What of the racism allegations that led to your suspension after celebrating a goal? 

It’s what happens in football. All I want is to score goals, enjoy my football and be successful. The only thing that matters is what happens on the pitch. Everything else is a pleasant distraction but unimportant. I am not a racist and never engage in such and will never do that.

What can you say about your days at Karabukspor and Spartak Moscow?

Karabukspor are a fantastic club. I really liked their attacking style, they made me what I am today because they exposed me to the bigger world even though I helped them to the top flight by scoring goals for them. I appreciate the club.

Russian football is a bit different, but it has its good points too. As people sometimes say, every rose has thorns. Life is beautiful here, everything is going on well for me and I really want to do my best to see my team win trophies next season.

The Russian league requires a lot of stamina and some ruggedness otherwise you will be a flop, but maybe because of where I was coming from made, it was a lot easier for me.

You have a new coach, Unai Emery, who was once in charge at Valencia of Spain. What do you expect from him? 

Emery is an experienced coach, he has the talent to lead the team to glory this season and he has challenged us to buckle up to push for the title.

Having such an experienced coach will even help our cause in the Champions League.

You are one of the best strikers Nigeria have now, did you ever think you would reach such a level at this time? 

I never doubted my ability since I started my career because that was the only thing on my mind to do. I knew I am going to make it at a point but when I didn’t know.

We gathered that coach Stephen Keshi will soon give you another chance in Eagles. 

That would be good. I have nothing against anybody in the team.

But your performance at club level compared to what you have produced for Nigeria has generated debate among the fans. What do you say? 

I have always hoped to give more for Nigeria than my club, but at times football does not go the way we want and people should just be patient with me.

My goals will flow for Nigeria soon, that I promise you.

How was it at the beginning for you? 

It was not so easy because I had to work hard to achieve my dream of becoming a successful footballer.

I was desperate to play for any club when I got the offer to play at FC Cape Town. The truth of the matter was that I always believe in myself and then I took my chance at Karabukspor well to launch me to the big time. I am still aiming high.

Last year, you are involved in charity work what was the motivation? 

I learnt to give from my parents, they made me know that giving brings blessings.

Money is vanity. I don’t allow the crazy aspect of money to control me, I want to live a normal life because of the name of my family.

And my father always told us that we should be givers than receiver. And I also believe that has really helped me so far in my career, I was nobody a few years ago, but through that I have receive a lot of blessings from God and I am being appreciated everywhere I go. So, I will keep doing that in my little way and I pray God will continue to lead me through.

Finally, how do you relax off the pitch? 

I love watching videos and hang out with friends in lovely places. I watch the videos of my goals before I go for the next match to enable me see and correct my mistakes.