Maxwell Baakoh, a former midfielder for Asante Kotoko, has revealed the reasons behind his departure from the Ghanaian football club.
Baakoh claimed that Kotoko offered him a lower salary than what he was previously earning, which he considered "unprofessional."
Negotiations broke down ahead of the 2020/2021 football season, and Baakoh took Kotoko to the Players and Coaches Status Committee after the club failed to pay him the signing-on fee.
The Committee ordered Asante Kotoko to pay Gh 25,000 to Baakoh as unpaid signing-on fees. Additionally, Baakoh felt unsupported by the club after being sacked from the hotel where he was staying.
Despite the issues, he acknowledged the support he received from the team's coaches and manager.
“They wanted to give me something less than what I was taking to extend my contract two days before the deadline day. What they did was unprofessional," he told Ghanasportspage.com
“Before that, I was receiving 2000 cedis every month with a signing-on fee of 25,000. I didn’t want to take something less than what I was receiving. We are moving forward in life but not backward,"
“The then coaches [Maxwell Konadu and Johnson Smith] all came in and wanted me to stay. Our team manager Ohene Brenyah stepped in and I explained everything to him. Nana Yaw Amponsah also called me during our pre-season in Koforidua but I informed him to call my agent, Yusif Chibsah. He decided not to do it but asked for a document showing why he is my agent,"
“What they were doing was unprofessional. They never gave me a contract extension with a huge offer which I declined. There’s no truth about that,"
“It’s a whole lot. I was even sacked from the hotel after we had returned from our pre-season in Koforidua. I didn’t want to talk about this issue but this is the right time for me to talk,”
Baakoh has since joined Karela United in the Ghana Premier League.
