[ 2016-10-30 ]

Hearts stalled my career – Taylor
Ex-Ghana international Charles Taylor has blamed
former club Accra Hearts of Oak for his inability
to reach the level he desired to take his
footballing career.

“I went to a lot of countries and everywhere I
went clubs wanted to sign me, but because of
contractual issues I always had to come back to
Hearts of Oak,” he lamented.

According to the former Black Stars player, he had
an opportunity to join Italian club Brescia at the
height of his career, after being introduced to
officials of the club by former Black Stars
captain Stephen Appiah, as a possible replacement
for legendary Italy striker Roberto Baggio, who
was retiring. However, management of Accra Hearts
of Oak turned down the contract offer because they
were not satisfied with the amount involved.

“When Essien was leaving abroad they (Liberty
Professionals, his then club) were demanding about
$50,000, but their clubs still allowed them to
leave, however Hearts even rejected $400,000 to
let me go. A lot of teams came chasing after me
but they refused to let me go. They wanted a
contract sum to the tune of $1-1.5million,” he
told DJ Premier on Entertainment Capital on
Accra100.5FM on Saturday October 29.

According to Charles Taylor, he had the
opportunity to sign for many clubs abroad but
Hearts’ management turned down many of the
offers. This, among other reasons, was why he left
Hearts of Oak for rival club Asante Kotoko, he
explained.

“If you think about your family, you will
understand why I left Hearts for Kotoko. I don’t
want to remember my past. I have supported Kotoko
all my life. My whole family supports Kotoko. But
I am a professional, so I punished Kotoko when the
need arose. But when I couldn’t make progress in
life at Hearts, I left for Kotoko,” he stated.

Charles Taylor was a member of Ghana’s 2004
Olympic football team that exited in the first
round, having finished in third place in Group B.
He was a silver medallist with Ghana’s U-20 team
at the 2001 Africa Youth Championship in Ethiopia.
Taylor played for the Black Stars at the 2009
African Nations Championship in Côte d'Ivoire,
where Ghana placed second, losing to favourites
Congo.

Source - Classfmonline

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