Former Hearts of Oak midfielder Joe Tagoe has revealed that the club still owes him part of the signing-on fee agreed upon when he joined them from Great Olympics in 2005.
Tagoe, who spent three seasons with Hearts of Oak, disclosed that the club had agreed to pay him GHc 6,000 and a monthly salary of GHC 1,800, but the club failed to fulfil the agreed-upon transfer fee.
According to Tagoe, Hearts of Oak only paid him GHc 2,000, leaving an outstanding amount of GHc 4,000. He expressed concerns about the lack of player welfare in Ghana and emphasized the challenges footballers face in receiving their due payments.
"When I moved to Hearts of Oak, I had a son, and so the responsibilities took a toll on my form, and I was not earning much. I don’t know how much Great Olympics took from Hearts of Oak for my sign-on fee, but Hearts of Oak said they would give me GHc 6,000, and my salary was GHC 1,800. But Hearts of Oak gave me GHc 2,000 out of the GHc 6,000, and they still owe me GHc 4,000," said Tagoe in an interview with Linus Nartey TV.
Tagoe also expressed scepticism about the effectiveness of player welfare bodies in Ghana, such as the Professional Footballers Association of Ghana (PFAG), in resolving the issues faced by players.
Joseph Tagoe had stints with Great Olympics, Hearts of Oak, Shacks FC, and Ebusua Dwarfs during his football career.