How Hearts of Oak tried to block Mohammed Polo from joining a club in UAE

Legendary Ghanaian footballer, Mohammed Polo, has relived the story of how Accra Hearts of Oak attempted to prevent him from leaving the club.

Polo tells GhanaWeb that he received an offer from a club in the United Arab Emirates by the name Al Wasl.

Hearts were adamant their star player was not going to leave despite his determination to move to another club.

Polo who was contracted to Hearts had to hatch a plan which includes an education leave to study Arabic in the country.

Hearts, aware of his plot, stood firm on their resolve not to allow him to leave the club.

Polo then defied their orders and tried to sneak out of the country to play in the UAE but at the airport, he encountered a challenge.

A security man had been detailed by a top executive of Hearts not to allow Polo to fly out of the country.

Luck, however, shined on him after attempts to reach the said management member of Hearts of Oak failed and the security officer found pity on him and allowed him to leave.

“God sent me the chance to travel and I told them I was going to study. I was only playing football here because to school here is a problem. I should have advanced my education because my parents were poor. They realized that I was going to play football in the UAE so they tried to block me. They tried to stop me from leaving. I was blocked and its only God who made way.

“The guy whom they told to stop me at the airport said that a management member had told him to stop me from travelling. So I asked him to call the person and we tried calling the person but he never picked up. The aircraft too was waiting for me. They were trying to block someone’s future. So after the man refused to pick the call, he just told me to go. I was paid $1000,” he said.

Money-wise, Polo believes is the best decision he made in his professional career as the move made him enjoy some good money in the UAE.

“I made $150,000 because I played for two years. I went there without a transfer certificate so I could come back and play for Hearts. I was becoming popular there because they couldn’t imagine my type of player. I even played under injury,” he said.