Nigeria’s Obafemi Martins may have stirred the hornets’
nest at his Spanish club, Levante, as he pushes for a
move to MLS
side,Seattle Sounders
The striker, who was left out of
Nigeria’s squad to the Cup
of Nations in South Africa , publicly told a
Spanish Radio (Radio Valencia) that he was not happy at Levante; a comment
which in a way has not gone down well with his club as well as his teammates.
According to Martins, who stands to
rake in hundreds of millions of naira if the move to America pulls through,
Levante have failed to meet the promises made to him and so he wants out.
“I’m not happy here, because I was
promised something that has not been met. I help the team, but there is
something that Levante have not met. It is not a question of money and I want
out.
“It is difficult to speak publicly
about it. Ask Manolo [Salvador, Levante’s sporting director], he knows what it
is,” Martins was quoted as saying on football-espana.net.
Juanfran Garcia, one of the most
senior players in Levante, revealed on Wednesday that he and his fellow
teammates have spoken to Martins over his controversial interview given
yesterday.
Juanfran told reporters the dressing
room’s reaction to the interview, which saw the former Inter striker make clear
his intention to move to America.
“We have been talking to him to be
clear and we will not talk about it anymore. The captains have met and told him
that he made a mistake,” the 36-year-old revealed on Wednesday.
“It is a personal matter and we
understand that he is an important player here. We do not know if he will be
here in a day or two, or until the end of the season, but until the last day he
will try.
“If he plays on Saturday or not
depends on the Coach. But what I think is that I do not want any player next to
me whose head is not here.
“I do not know what he is thinking,
from what I have seen and understood though, he seems fine. Whatever help he
wants we will give, if he doesn’t want to be here, we don’t want him playing
here.
“We have said that we are not
concerned about his attitude and there is no problem with the team. I think the
situation can be reversed.
“Here in Spain we treat these issues
in a certain way and maybe he comes from somewhere where it is handled
differently.
“I have no doubt, if he stays or
goes, that the group will emerge from this stronger. Whilst he is here, he
belongs to Levante and will fight to his death for us.
Already, Levante, through their
official twitter handle, have suggested that they could stand in Martins way
unless the buyout clause in his contract is met.
“We will not negotiate now the exit
of any player and if there is an offer then it must be at the termination
clause,” the Spanish outfit tweeted on Wednesday.
Another Nigerian striker, Osaze Odemwingie, was involved in a transfer row
with his English Premier League club West Bromwich Albion,
leading to a punishment by the club.
