Hearts stalled my career – Charles Taylor

Ex-Ghana international Charles Taylor has blamed former club Accra Hearts of Oak for his inability to reach the level he desired to take his footballing career.

“I went to a lot of countries and everywhere I went clubs wanted to sign me, but because of contractual issues I always had to come back to Hearts of Oak,” he lamented.

According to the former Black Stars player, he had an opportunity to join Italian club Brescia at the height of his career, after being introduced to officials of the club by former Black Stars captain Stephen Appiah, as a possible replacement for legendary Italy striker Roberto Baggio, who was retiring. However, management of Accra Hearts of Oak turned down the contract offer because they were not satisfied with the amount involved.

“When Essien was leaving abroad they (Liberty Professionals, his then club) were demanding about $50,000, but their clubs still allowed them to leave, however Hearts even rejected $400,000 to let me go. A lot of teams came chasing after me but they refused to let me go. They wanted a contract sum to the tune of $1-1.5million,” he told DJ Premier on Entertainment Capital on Accra100.5FM on Saturday October 29.

According to Charles Taylor, he had the opportunity to sign for many clubs abroad but Hearts’ management turned down many of the offers. This, among other reasons, was why he left Hearts of Oak for rival club Asante Kotoko, he explained.

“If you think about your family, you will understand why I left Hearts for Kotoko. I don’t want to remember my past. I have supported Kotoko all my life. My whole family supports Kotoko. But I am a professional, so I punished Kotoko when the need arose. But when I couldn’t make progress in life at Hearts, I left for Kotoko,” he stated.

Charles Taylor was a member of Ghana’s 2004 Olympic football team that exited in the first round, having finished in third place in Group B. He was a silver medallist with Ghana’s U-20 team at the 2001 Africa Youth Championship in Ethiopia. Taylor played for the Black Stars at the 2009 African Nations Championship in Côte d'Ivoire, where Ghana placed second, losing to favourites Congo.