Nigeria striker Terem Moffi has opened up on his favourite goal for OGC Nice after impressively reaching 50 Ligue 1 goals.
The 24-year-old marked a half-century of goals in the French topflight when he scored in his club’s 1-2 defeat at the hands of Nantes on Sunday. Moffi converted a penalty to restore parity for Nice after Matthis Abline had given Nantes a first-half lead but the hosts could not hold on for a point, as Mostafa Mohamed scored late in the game to hand the visitors an important victory.
Despite Nice ending up on the losing side, the goal marked a significant milestone for Moffi, who is now Nigeria’s third-highest top scorer in Ligue 1 history.
The former Kortrijk and Lorient forward is now behind only John Ukata (59 and Victor Ikpeba (55) in the list of Nigerian footballers with the most goals in the French topflight and he could actually surpass his aforementioned compatriots with a few more goals this season.
Terem Moffi picks bicycle kick goal against Basel as his favourite
For a man who has been scoring for fun for Nice, Moffi has finally made his pick on his favourite goal for the French club.
According to him, the bicycle kick goal he scored against FC Basel in the UEFA Europa Conference League remains his favourite strike of all. It would be recalled that the Nigeria international scored a brace when Nice played out a 2-2 draw with the Swiss giants in the first leg of the Europa Conference League quarter-final last season.
His first goal was a smart finish to draw Nice level after they had conceded first, and he would go on to put his side ahead with an audacious bicycle kick late in the first half. Although the French side squandered their lead in the second half to draw the game and were eventually eliminated from the competition via a 4-3 aggregate defeat, Moffi’s incredible strike remains on the striker’s mind.
“Obviously, the overhead kick. The bicycle kick, that has to be the number one for me because I’ve never scored this in my life. I’ve always envisioned this kind of goal. So yeah, and it was an important goal, so it has to be this one,” Moffi told journalist Ayo Adams in an interview.
Terem Moffi explains rejecting offers from Premier League, Bundesliga clubs
Meanwhile, Moffi also confirmed receiving concrete interest from clubs in the Premier League and Bundesliga during the last transfer window.
The Calabar-born forward said although he was tempted by the possibility of swapping Ligue 1 for one of Europe’s major leagues, he ultimately decided to stay to make his mark in France and also continue with his progression.
Moffi further described his time in the French topflight as “good so far” but also hinted at considering his options in the summer.
“There were really convincing offers from the Premier League, Bundesliga and so forth. But I felt like at the time, I should have stayed more in France to make my mark and for growth. So that’s why I stayed in France. Well, it’s been good so far. I’m loving it there and, hopefully, in the coming seasons, we’ll see what happens,” the Nice striker said.
Terem Moffi joined Nice permanently from Lorient in 2023 following an initial six-month loan spell. The 24-year-old has, however, settled in seamlessly at the club, having contributed 10 goals and two assists this season. The striker was part of Nigeria’s squad for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON 2024) in the Ivory Coast where the Super Eagles scooped a runners-up medal, but was left out of the recent squad that faced Ghana and Mali during the March international break.
