The representative of Super Eagles star Stanley Nwabali, Mohammed Lawal, has revealed the reasons behind the shock return of the goalkeeper to Chippa United ahead of the 2026/27 season, www.aclsports.com reports.
Nwabali, 30, decided to leave the South African club after the AFCON tournament in Morocco earlier in the year, only for him to return to the side last week.
That move ended a 5-month absence from competitive action, but his representative has now provided clarification on the absence and the decision to return to the Chillis.
Lawal told ESPN that the decision to walk away when he did was not just from Chippa United but also from football and was driven by overwhelming grief and a need to protect his mental health.
”It has been very difficult for Stanley,” Lawal opened up to ESPN. “People don’t always know what is going on with these players. They only see them on the field. They know them as footballers, but they don’t know that they are human beings too. Like everyone else, they go through life’s challenges.”
Lawal added: “After losing his parents, he became responsible for everything. There was a lot he needed to take care of. As a professional, he knew he had to keep playing, but it was affecting him and if he continued, he was going to destroy himself because when you’re not in the right mental state, it shows.”
According to Lawal, the strain had become evident in Nwabali’s temperament, a factor that further fuelled the criticism he faced during Nigeria’s World Cup qualifying campaign and at the Nations Cup in Morocco.
He said: “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.”
The representative also confirmed that the former Enyimba goalkeeper had offers from Saudi Arabia and other places, but he decided to stay away because of his mental health.
“There was serious interest from Saudi Arabia, Africa even England, but once we explained the situation, they understood. Stanley decided to stay out of the game for a few months and get himself in order,” Lawal said.
Lawal added: “Now Stanley is ready. He’s more than ready. He’s taken the time he needed, and the national team coach Eric Chelle also supported him throughout the process, communicating with him constantly.
“At Chippa, everyone knows him. They understand him. Instead of starting from the bottom in a new environment, he is returning to a place where people know who he is. That gives him the best chance to get back to the level he was at before,” Lawal concluded on the choice of returning to Chippa.
