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Renowned Ghanaian football administrator and owner of Tema Youth Football Club, Wilfred Osei Kwaku Palmer, has narrated how Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey left his club and moved to Spain.
Palmer recounted that Tema Youth were preparing to play Asante Kotoko with Partey in the squad. However, the midfielder reported a stomach upset and sat out the match, only for Palmer to later realize that Partey had left Ghana for Spain to join Atletico Madrid.
In an interview on Hot FM, he revealed:
On the night he was about to travel to Spain, he informed me that he had a stomach issue. We were preparing for a game against Kotoko, and he was in the squad, but because of the sickness, we had to exclude him from the team for the match. I later discovered that he was traveling that very night to sign with Atletico Madrid.
According to him, Partey left the club without prior notice, and he almost petitioned the Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA) to take action against him.
However, he was persuaded by fellow footballer Moses Odjer, who urged him not to take any action that could potentially damage Partey’s career.
READ ALSO: Why Thomas Partey’s former club boss didn’t want to ‘destroy’ his career revealed
Palmer explained that another reason he refrained from taking legal action was because of the awareness that his club stood to benefit from future transfer deals.
Partey's career path
Partey signed for Atletico Madrid in 2013, before going on loan to Mallorca and Almería, and returned to play under Diego Simeone in 2015. He won the 2017/18 UEFA Europa League and the 2018/19 Super Cup.
Despite joining Arsenal at the start of the 2020/21 season, Partey made enough appearances to earn a medal when the Mattress Makers won the La Liga title.