Posted by Ghanaian international Sulley Muntari has explained why he didn’t renew his contract with Accra Hearts of Oak.
Sulley Muntari joined Hearts of Oak on a 6-month deal in January 2022. The 37-year old was fantastic for the club throughout his time, scoring a goal and providing 3 assists from 14 appearances.
He helped the club retain the MTN FA Cup and as well win the President Cup by beating bitterest rivals Asante Kotoko 2-1.
Following the expiration of his contract with the Phobians, Sulley Muntari was expected to extend his contact with the club. However that didn’t materialize, with the experience midfielder turning down numerous offers from the club.
In a conversation on Dan Kwaku Yeboah TV, Muntari revealed that he turned down Hearts of Oak’s contract renewal due to the club’s reluctancy to build the team.
“Yeah, I had a few talks with them(Kotoko) I spoke to some board members because I wanted to help them in Africa. (But) I was with Hearts of Oak at that time. My contract had run out and I was talking with them to build a very, very strong team. I didn’t want to go and disgrace myself in the African campaign. If you qualify for the CAF Champions League or any other CAF competition or even Europe, you prepare for that. You augment the squad that you qualified with some good players and build the team.”
“So I was talking with Hearts to build the team but the management had different ideas. And if someone has a different idea, although you tell them to do stuff, if they don’t want to do it, you don’t push it. I’ll tell you the truth, I didn’t want to go and disgrace myself. And I know I’ve really worked hard in terms of football, so for me to come and let some little things wipe all the work that I’ve done, no. I won’t do it, no. So I was talking with Kotoko about the same(thing),” he added.
Muntari revealed that he also held discussions with Asante Kotoko, but it wasn’t because he wanted to get back at Hearts of Oak.
“It is not because Hearts didn’t do as I said that’s why I wanted to go to Kotoko, no. But even if it’s second division, it’s the same mentality I would come up with, so you can build a strong team. Because the moment you build a strong team, the following year you can sell two or three players then you get money then you build the team again. Most of the teams we played in Europe that’s what they do,” he told Dan Kwaku Yeboah TV as quoted by Ghanaweb.
Both Hearts of Oak and Asante Kotoko failed to make an impact in the CAF Confederations Cup and Champions League respectively.
Heart of Oak bowed out of the second qualifying round of the CAF Confederations Cup, losing 3-1 on aggregate to Malian fold AS Real Bamako.
Asante Kotoko on the other hand bowed out of the first qualifying round of the CAF Champions League after losing 4-3 on penalties to Burkinabe side RC Kadiogo, the two leagues between the two sides ended 1-1.