CAIRO: Although Turkish side OFTAS Spor announced that they signed Amir Azmi, Zamalek insisted on Saturday that the Egyptian defender still belongs to them.
Azmi has signed a contract with us. He never informed the club that he wishes to terminate that deal, Zamalek said in a statement on their website.
Azmi initially signed a four-year deal with Zamalek after his contract with Cypriot side Anorthosis Famagusta expired.
But he suddenly decided to leave the club for “feeling under pressure since joining.
The 25-year-old stopper was particularly unhappy with claims that he was signed to back his father s name in the upcoming board elections.
Turkish Super Lig OFTAS Spor announced afterwards that they acquired the services of Azmi, without disclosing further details. We haven t been informed yet that any European club want to sign Azmi. There is nothing to discuss, the player is ours, Zamalek said.
The Egyptian Cup winners went on to clarify the reasons behind their failure to appoint Italian Alberto Zaccheroni as their new coach.
Many of Zamalek fans have criticized the club for not being able to lure a high-profile manager to Cairo.
We were on the verge of appointing Zaccheroni as the club s first-team coach.
However, his late excessive demands led to the deal being cancelled. The club couldn t afford to fulfill his financial demands.
The club then appointed . coach German Reiner Hollmann, who has a lot of experience in Egypt and the Arab region.
