Former Black Stars defender, John Paintsil, has revealed that Kotoko and Hearts were fighting for him in the past but he rejected both of them.
He rejected them due to the project going on at Liberty Professionals. The decision proved to be a good one because he later got the chance to play abroad.
“During my formative period, both Harry Zakkour of Hearts of Oak and Herbert Mensah of Kumasi Asante Kotoko were keen to sign me. They gave me money to entice me to play for them. I collected the money but told them that I was not interested in playing for either of them,” Paintsil told Graphic Sports.
“It was later that the late Alhaji Sly Tetteh came for me and I agreed. However, after playing for only six months, I had an offer to play in Israel which I accepted,”
“I was not interested in any monetary gain in domestic football. I just wanted to play for fun devoid of tension. In those days, the display of scientific football by Liberty Professionals attracted me so much”.
“That explains why I accepted to play for Alhaji Sly Tetteh. As I said earlier, their style of play suited me so much and when I signed for the club, the management style of the late Sly Tetteh also motivated me to stay with them but the offer from Israel ended my romance with Liberty Professionals prematurely.
“My reason for playing for Liberty was basically due to their sense of professionalism on and off the field,” he stressed.