CAIRO: Egypt keeper Essam Al-Hadari insisted on Saturday that money was not his motivation to make a surprising move to Swiss side Sion.
I was dreaming of playing in Europe. It was the last chance for me to move abroad because I m not young, the 35-year-old goalie said.
Maybe Al Ahly have a better reputation than Sion, but playing in Switzerland could allow me to join a bigger team in Europe, he told Goal FM.
Al-Hadari has joined Sion in bizarre circumstances, apparently invoking a FIFA rule to depart without his club’s approval.
However, the veteran guardian stressed that Sion officials want to wrap up his deal in a friendly way.
Sion have contacted Al Ahly once again this morning to open new talks regarding my transfer.
After Al-Hadari s impressive displays in Egypt s African Cup of Nations triumphant campaign, Sion made a $400,000 bid for his services.
But the Egyptian champions have turned down Sion s offer as they deemed it unsuitable to someone of Al-Hadari s caliber.
Egyptian Football Association (EFA) vice-president Ahmed Shobeir said on Saturday that the Association will not send Essam Al-Hadari s International Transfer Certificate (ITC) to Swiss side Sion.
Al Ahly vowed to take a legal action against their long-serving guardian, with the support of the EFA.
After holding a meeting on Saturday morning, the EFA have decided against sending Al-Hadari s ITC to Sion, Shobeir said.
We will inform our Swiss counterparts in the next few hours.
Article 16 of FIFA laws forbids any player of unilaterally breaching his contract during the season, he added.
We are warning Sion of fielding Al-Hadari in any game. If they didn t listen to us, we will be forced to take the matter to FIFA.
Shobeir has also called on Al Ahly to do their best to convince Al-Hadari return home.
Al-Hadari has served Al Ahly for long years, so the club shouldn t come down too hard on him, he concluded.
