Kelechi Iheanacho has been accused of abandoning his childhood friends after he found fame and fortune as a professional footballer.

The claims are contained in an astonishingly biographical post published on social media by one Godswill Uche who claims to have grown up and slummed with the Super Eagles star in Owerri back when Iheanacho was yet to hit the limelight.

In the heartwrenching write-up, Uche who claimed to have grown up with Iheanacho in Owerri accused the player’s sibling of blowing him off when he asked to be put in touch with the Leicester City ace.

Recounting the years they both spent together grafting in the hopes of striking fortune through football, Uche called on Iheanacho not to forget the days of humble beginnings just because his dream came true while the others didn’t get as lucky.

“We played the street balls together under the rain and scorching sun. We attended the same primary school; Unique Nursery and primary school Umualum Nekede No 4 b/stop as at then but has relocated to a new site now. We did almost everything together but today grace has found you and you’ve rose and clapped your way into the corridors of fame and stardom, you’re now a celebrity not just in Nigeria but all over the world,” Uche reminded the ex-Manchester City star.

Anticipating the reaction his post would likely generate, Uche explained that his outpouring and those of others who are former friends of Iheanacho should not be seen as entitled but a genuine attempt to reach out to someone they once shared intimate dreams and aspiration but who lives several worlds away.

“Don’t call them lazy, poor or feel irritated when you see them coming to you. We all started from somewhere and grace found you,” he added.

The post is reproduced below.

Iheanacho has enjoyed a resurgence in his Leicester career following a difficult second season that cost him his place in the Super Eagles squad to the 2019 African Cup of Nations.

He scored 8 times in 18 appearances and weighed in with four assists for the Foxes prior to the suspension of the English Premier League to replay his way into the national team squad for the 2021 AFCON qualifiers against Sierra Leone before the coronavirus pandemic forced a halt to all global football activities.