Choose best-paying club, Samatta’s father tells son
Mbwana Samata of DR Congo’s TP Mazembe (third left) makes hes way past Club America defenders during the FIFA Club World Cup 5th Place Match at Osaka Nagai Stadium on December 16, 2015 Japan. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
The first club is KRC Genk, in respect of which a provisional contract has been signed to enable the player join it after the scheduled expiry of his contract with TP Mazembe in April this year.
Dar es Salaam. Mbwana Samata’s father, Mzee Ally Samatta, has urged his son to choose the best paying clubs in his career. Mzee Samatta’s sentiments have been prompted by controversy stemming from two Belgian club vying to recruit his son.
The first club is KRC Genk, in respect of which a provisional contract has been signed to enable the player join it after the scheduled expiry of his contract with TP Mazembe in April this year.
However, the deal seems to have hit a snag after TP Mazembe’s reported better offer for the player by Standard Liège which finished fourth in the Belgium professional league. KRC Genk finished seventh.
Mzee Samatta explained:
“As the player’s father, I see difficulties in the matter, but my main interest is to see my prosper as a a Europe-based player. KRC Genk has demonstrated commitment. Its officials came to Tanzania and spoke with me and player himself. They furthermore followed Mbwana in Japan and signed a provisional contract. But it seems the TP Mazembe boss, Moise Katumbi, doesn’t support the deal, but wants Mbwana to play for Standard Liege instead. ”
He added: “I cannot interfere in the matter, because TP Mazembe enabled my son to attain his current status. I respect Katumbi because he contributed a lot to Mbwana’s success. My advice to him is to focus on playing for the club because football is his employment.” He pointed out, however, that the issue seemed to have exerted considerable pressure on his son because he doesn’t want his dream shattered, although he is yet to be paid by KRC Genk, contrary to what many football stakeholder think. Mzee Samatta remarked further: “My son is the main character in the issue; he is the one who can decide where to go, though I know that there are benefits of playing for KRC Genk due to its history. Many African players have played in famous European league teams, especially in England through he club.
They include Thibaut Courtois and Kevin De Bruyne to Premier League club Chelsea and Christian Benteke who joined Aston Villa and now plays for Liverpool.”
