Former Nigeria striker Chinedu Obasi has alleged he was asked to pay a bribe to be selected for the 2014 World Cup, before missing out on selection.
Obasi, 33, who last played for the Super Eagles in 2011, claimed he was asked to pay his way into the team during a pre-tournament training camp.
"I was supposed to be at the World Cup in 2014, I was playing with Schalke in the Champions League everything was going fine. At the end of the season, I was given an invitation for the World Cup preparations for friendlies in South Africa," Obasi, who is currently without a club after leaving Swedish outfit AIK in January, said on social media.
"So, two days before the list came out, I was asked to pay some money if I wanted to be in the team," he added.
Obasi, who featured for Nigeria at the 2010 World Cup and won a silver medal at the Beijing 2008 Olympics and played at the 2010 World Cup, said a move away from the Bundesliga fell through after missing the global finals in Brazil.
"I felt like I've paid my dues for the country, if you're a new player, I can get that but for me, it was a bit personal and very heart-breaking because I got injured - I was supposed to move from Hoffenheim to England," he said.
"And it takes a lot of dedication, it takes a lot of money and it takes a lot of investment in myself and my body. I went through surgery and did everything I could."
However, one of Nigeria's assistant coaches at the World Cup six years ago, Valere Houdonou, maintained Obasi was not good enough to make the final squad facing competition from the likes of Peter Odemwingie and Ahmed Musa.
"The question is, who could he have replaced among the strikers then?" Houdonou said.
