Wilfred Osei Kwaku Palmer, the owner of Tema Youth Football Club, has recounted the circumstances under which Thomas Partey left the club for Spanish giants Atletico Madrid.
Speaking on Hot FM, Palmer stated that Partey left the club without the club’s notice and that he almost petitioned the Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA) to take action against him.
Palmer stated that he was, however, restrained by another footballer, Moses Odjer, who pleaded with him not to take any action that had the potential to cripple Partey’s career.
Palmer said that another reason he opted against dragging Partey to FIFA was the awareness that his club stood to benefit from future transfer deals.
“There wasn’t any proper transfer. We wrote to Atletico, and they never bothered to respond. At the time, I was tempted to go to FIFA and report the conduct of Atletico, but Moses Odjer begged me to stop and allow Partey to play his ball.
“I thought about it and realized that we would be entitled to a solidarity fee if he moved to another club, so why would I destroy the career of such a player? So I controlled myself and decided not to bother Atletico Madrid. That’s why he left the country. Because of that, he feels we have a grudge.”
He recounted that Tema Youth were preparing to play Asante Kotoko with Thomas Partey in the squad.
However, the midfielder reported a stomach upset and decided to sit out the match, only for Palmer to realize later that his player had left Ghana for Spain to join Atletico Madrid.
“On the night he was about to travel to Spain, he informed me that he had a stomach issue. We were preparing for a game against Kotoko, and he was in the squad, but because of the sickness, we had to exclude him from the team for the match. I later discovered that he was traveling that very night to sign with Atletico Madrid,” he stated.
Thomas Partey’s decision paid off as his career blossomed at Atletico Madrid, earning him a lucrative move to Arsenal, where he reportedly earns £250,000 a week.
Meanwhile watch GhanaWeb’s breakdown of the uproar triggered by Jamie Carragher’s comments on the AFCON and Mo Salah below:
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