Kelechi Nwakali, a Super Eagles midfielder, has explained why his contract with Huesca in Spain was terminated.
Nwakali’s contract with Huesca was terminated on Tuesday, according to Huesca.
Nwakali, however, reacted to the news by accusing the club’s Sporting Director, Ruben Garcia, of being the brains behind the dismissal in a statement posted on his Twitter account on Wednesday.
The trouble began when he was called up to the Super Eagles squad for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Cameroon, but Garcia told him not to accept the invitation since it was “not an important tournament.”
According to Nwakali’s statement, “It comes with huge regret that I am writing this message after SD Huesca announced the termination of my contract. I have kept silent out of respect for the Huesca fans and my teammates, but I will no longer suffer in silence. The time has come for people to know the truth and why these past few months have been awful for me and my family.”
“In Dec 2021, I experienced the biggest honour of my life after I received a full international call up for my beloved Nigeria. But the joy of this moment quickly came crashing down when the club’s Sporting Director, Ruben Garcia, put extreme pressure on me not to go to AFCON due to it ‘not being an important tournament’. He told me that if I go to AFCON I will not play for Huesca again.”
Nwakali claims that Huesca sporting director Ruben Garcia pressed him not to join the Super Eagles squad for the Nations Cup in January, and that the club had been “abusing its position” to persuade him to sign a new contract, including neglecting to pay his salaries on time.
Huesca said they “totally deny and disagree with the player’s allegations” and will defend themselves in court if necessary.
“The club has acted with the utmost respect for the player at all times,” Huesca said in a statement.
“Given the gravity of some of the statements expressed, the club reserves the right to take any action it considers necessary to protect its legitimate rights and interests.”
On Tuesday, the second-tier club announced that Nwakali’s contract, which was set to expire at the end of the season, had been cancelled, but gave no rationale for the decision.
Before departing for international duty, Nwakali made his final appearance for the club against Girona on January 2nd.
Kelechi Nwakali made three appearances for Nigeria at the Nations Cup in Cameroon, but was forced to sit out their last-16 loss to Tunisia due to illness.
He further claimed that after returning to Huesca on February 1, he was forced to train alone.
Nwakali joined Huesca from Arsenal in September 2019 and has appeared 33 times for the club thus far.Nwakali continued, “All I want to do is get back to playing the sport I love.”
