The owner of Ghanaian football club Tema Youth FC Wilfred Osei Palmer has disclosed that he initially considered obstructing Thomas Teye Partey’s career following his transfer to Atletico Madrid.
Thomas Teye Partey, currently playing for Arsenal in the English Premier League, was transferred from Tema Youth to Atletico Madrid in 2012, after a short spell with Leganés. The deputy skipper of the Black Stars was subsequently moved to the reserves a year later.
In an exclusive interview with Ebenezer Amuzu on Hot 93.9FM’s ‘Focal Sports,’ Wilfred Osei Palmer revealed his initial intention to hinder Partey’s professional progression.
Palmer explained that Partey, then a Tema Youth player, did not inform him of his impending move to Spain.
“Moses Odjer intervened and prevented me from taking action that could have damaged Thomas Partey’s career…I was determined to do so. When he was about to travel to Spain, he informed me that he had a stomach ailment while playing a match for Tema Youth and could not continue playing. I later discovered that he was traveling that very night to sign with Atletico Madrid.” He stated
A once-prominent Ghanaian football club known for developing top-tier players like Thomas Partey and Joseph Paintsil, Tema Youth has fallen dramatically and now plays in the third division.
This decline is attributed to a financial dispute arising from Joseph Paintsil’s transfer to a Belgian club.
Specifically, they failed to compensate another club, Young Red Bulls, involved in the transfer.
This led to a ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, demanding they pay a substantial fine to the Ghanaian football association, which the club refused to do.
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