Former Black Stars player, Charles Taylor, has earned the label ‘controversial’ due to his unpopular and candid takes on sporting issues.
Taylor has carved a reputation as a pundit who finds joy in launching scathing attacks on players, clubs, or managers.
Taylor holds a firm reputation in Ghana due to his remarkable legacy in the Ghana Premier League, hence, his words often generate conversations and divide opinions.
GhanaWeb has put together five times Charles Taylor dropped bombshells.
1. Juju allegations against Hearts of Oak
In 2013, Charles Taylor blamed Hearts of Oak for his injury woes at Asante Kotoko.
He said the club used ‘black magic’ to cripple his career following his transfer to Asante Kotoko.
“Very soon the names of the persons involved will come out. But I’m telling you that some Hearts people in Kumasi went to a ‘juju man’ to place the injury problems on me,” Taylor said.
“The man says he’s unhappy with what they did to me and will do everything possible for me to recover. Those people were not happy when I joined Kotoko and so opted to use black magic to destroy my career.”
2. Andre Ayew and Mubarak Wakaso recall
In 2023, Charles Taylor opined that Andre Ayew and Mubarack Wakaso should be part of every Black Stars call-up whether they are with or without a club.
“Andre Ayew should always be part of the Black Stars whether he has a club or not and we need Wakaso back in the team urgently,” he told Angel TV.
Taylor’s assertion was in reaction to Ghana’s back-to-back defeats to USA and Mexico in October.
The duo were exempted from the squad at the time because they were unmatched.
3. Hans-Dieter Schmidt
Charles Taylor, who never hid his disdain for his ex-boss Hans-Dieter Schmidt, blamed him for the club’s defeat to Hearts of Oak in the 2004 Confederation Cup final.
Commenting on the game in 2020, Taylor said the fans should have killed the manager, adding that they lost the game because the manager decided to sub him.
“They should have killed him. What he did was very bad. We lost the cup because of that silly decision. If you have a white man who has eaten African food, it gets into his head.
“I’m sorry to be saying this but there was no sense in his head. Even after taking me out, he could have kept on Emba but because of the foolish things he did, we lost. He did so many unnecessary things.
“Everyone was asking why he took me out but later he apologized to me for doing it. If we players had made the selection, we would have won. He didn’t teach us anything. We did the work ourselves”.
4. Attack on Richard Attah
Charles Taylor descended on Hearts of Oak goalkeeper Richard Attah over his recent poor performance, especially Attah’s poor showing in a 2-0 defeat to Legon Cities on Saturday, April 20, 2024.
The former Hearts of Oak striker said the club would be better off playing without a goalkeeper than having Attah in goal.
“When we are talking about Hearts of Oak issues, it is not because we hate anyone. The form you are in is not good work on it,” Taylor told Angel TV.
“I don’t like the kind of goalkeeping Attah is doing. I feel it is better when they are playing with an empty post. I’ve said it all. I am done.”
5. Erling Haaland won’t start in Hearts of Oak lineupe
Charles Taylor made big claims about Manchester City and Norway striker, Erling Haaland, saying the reigning Premier League top scorer would not make Hearts of Oak’s starting lineup.
“If Haaland was in Ghana, he wouldn’t even start for Hearts of Oak. He will sit on the bench. Tell him that I said if he comes to Ghana, he won’t even start for Hearts of Oak,” Taylor asserted.
EE/EK