Charles Taylor Ditches Hearts

FORMER NATONAL star, Charles Taylor, has picked Kotoko ahead of Hearts of Oak, regarding which of the two top clubs boosted his financial status during his playing days.

“Kotoko made me rich. But for Kotoko I wouldn’t have been able to build my own house”, the multi-talented footballer, who once played for both Kotoko and Hearts of Oak, indicated.

He, however, said his days at Hearts also yielded some positives, regarding his popularity, saying “Hearts of Oak also gave me the platform to become popular when I was with them”.

Taylor, it would be recalled, caused a huge stir in Ghana football when he ditched Hearts of Oak to join arch rivals, Kumasi Asante Kotoko at a huge fee.

The move, which was never anticipated, sparked extreme anger among a section of Hearts supporters, with some referring to Taylor as a traitor and ungrateful.

Several years after the switch, Taylor still believes that, financially, the move was a wise decision.

“When I was with Hearts of Oak, I lived in a rented house at Teshie in Accra, but my days with the club (Hearts) also helped me to become popular and even earned a national team call up.

“But if I say Kotoko helped me to become rich it is true because it was during my days with Kotoko that I managed to build a house. Some Kotoko fans donated building materials for me for free.

“During that time, Kotoko supporters constantly donated cash to me to the extent that money was not a problem for me so I did not even go into my bank accounts to withdraw money for a long time”.

Taylor, who has now retired from active football, told Nhyira FM in Kumasi that even in his retirement years some benevolent Kotoko supporters still show kindness to him periodically.

Source: Yaw Asamoah/ The Publisher Newspaper