SUPER Eagles goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali decided to leave South African club Chippa United primarily to protect his mental health after suffering the devastating loss of his grandmother, father and mother within a two-month period, his representative, Mohammed Lawal, has revealed.
Speaking exclusively to ESPN, Lawal said Nwabali’s decision to walk away was not only from Chippa United but also from football temporarily, as he struggled to cope with the emotional impact of the personal tragedies.
According to Lawal, the goalkeeper had been overwhelmed by grief and needed time away from the game to heal emotionally.
“It has been very difficult for Stanley,” Lawal told ESPN.
“If you look back, you’ll see the difference. Stanley used to be lively and always smiling. During the last AFCON and the World Cup qualifiers, he became unusually aggressive. He was shouting at teammates and confronting opponents. But that wasn’t the real Stanley.
“When he first started playing for Nigeria, everyone talked about how calm he was under pressure. Later, people thought he had become overconfident or aggressive. They didn’t know what was happening inside him.”
Lawal explained that many supporters and observers misunderstood the goalkeeper’s behavioural changes on the pitch, unaware that he was battling immense personal grief behind the scenes.
Nwabali joined Chippa United in 2022 and established himself as one of the club’s key players before earning widespread recognition for his impressive performances with Nigeria at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, where the Super Eagles finished as runners-up.
Few weeks ago, the 29-year-old officially ended his association with Chippa United after reaching a mutual agreement with the club to terminate the remaining year of his contract. The termination allowed both parties to part ways amicably, with the goalkeeper becoming a free agent.
The revelation from his representative has now shed light on the personal circumstances behind the decision, highlighting that the move was motivated by the need to prioritise his mental well-being following an extraordinarily difficult period in his life.
Nwabali is widely regarded as Nigeria’s first-choice goalkeeper, and many fans will be hoping that time away from the pressures of club football will enable him to recover emotionally before returning to action.
