Muntari’s return to domestic football last month was one of the Hearts’ biggest transfer coups for a high-profile player who had spent the best years of his career in Europe, winning the UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid.
Dr Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe, a member of Hearts’ board of directors, explained how Muntari came to sign for the club, saying that about five months prior to the player joining the team, the experienced midfielder met with the club’s board chairman, Togbe Afede XIV, and demanded a huge sum of money that the Phobians could not afford.
Muntari, who played in the Italian Serie A, the English Premier League, and the Spanish La Liga during his illustrious career, later backed down on his demands and, to his surprise, offered his services.
‘Sulley initially contacted myself and Togbe Afede to express his desire to play for Hearts. He came down and we talked with him, but for the amount of money he wanted in dollars, we told him flat out that we didn’t have it, even though we’d be thrilled to have him.
“So he went to South Africa and returned. When he [Muntari] returned and came to us this time, he said he wasn’t going to charge us anything, but Togbe said no because that wasn’t how business was done. Togbe Afede stated that a record must be kept to demonstrate that you have done something [worked and earned a wage/salary], and Sulley stated that he will charge us GH1 per month.
He claimed that the player’s demands sounded too good to be true because they couldn’t believe that a player who had made some outrageous demands a few months prior would now play for free.
Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe stated that Muntari’s offer exemplified his selflessness and that his presence in the Hearts team had been very beneficial to both the players and the technical team, who were benefiting from the 37-year-old player’s experience.
“Recently, Togbe paid them a visit at the training grounds and called Sulley to ask how much he was going to charge the club, to which Sulley replied GH1. So Togbe took advantage of the opportunity to educate the boys on the importance of selfless service,” Dr. Nyaho added.
The Hearts board member emphasized that even the player’s transportation to and from training was self-funded, as the club did not even purchase fuel for him.
“We don’t even buy him fuel.” What I meant was that we wanted Sulley’s experience because even the coach [Samuel Boadu] is learning from him.”
Meanwhile, the Hearts director has urged supporters to disregard rumors that the player refused to join the team for yesterday’s Premier League match against Aduana Stars because he preferred to fly to Dormaa-Ahenkro instead of taking the team bus.
