Former Hearts of Oak defender Raddy Ovouka has opened up about the financial challenges he faced upon initially joining the Ghanaian club, disclosing that he received a modest GHC 800 as his salary.
The Congolese left-back, who arrived in Ghana without a place to stay or basic necessities, faced the challenging situation of accepting the offer or leaving, as the club had not seen him play before and insisted on this low wage.
"I signed a five-year deal with Hearts of Oak from 2018 to 2023. When I was about to sign the contract, they told me they had never seen me play before, so if I didn't like the salary, I could leave. It wasn't easy for me because I didn't know anyone in Ghana, and I needed to get a place to sleep, so I had to sign the contract like that," Ovouka revealed in an interview with ghanasportspage.com.
However, Ovouka's fortunes changed in 2021 when he secured representation through an agent. The defender successfully renegotiated his salary, receiving a substantial increment to GHC 4,000.
Ovouka was a key player for the Phobians helping them win the Ghana Premier League title in 2020/21 as well as FA Cup titles.