Former player for Hearts of Oak, Joe Louis, revealed that his passion for anything related to football waned after retirement, attributing it to a troubling experience he encountered during his time with the club.
In an interview with Dan Kwaku Yeboah TV, Louis recounted the challenges he faced in his final years at Hearts, particularly concerning unpaid bonuses. Frustrated by the situation, he made the difficult decision to forgo an entire year’s salary and depart from the club.
Louis explained that upon informing the club of his decision, the management refused to accept his resignation and instead insisted that he fulfill the remaining year of his contract. This, he asserted, significantly dampened his enthusiasm for the sport.
“I first informed Alhaji Hearts about my decision because he was very nice to me during my time. He told me to take it easy and that they would sort things out. Then I went to Harry Zakour (former Heart of Oak CEO) and told him ‘I’m giving up my one-year salary, I want to leave’ but he also said no. It was from that point I lost my passion for football,” he said.
Joe Louis asserted that the struggles local players and coaches go through before getting money due to them made football unpleasant to him.
He said he was cheated by clubs, stating that despite his dedication during his peak years, he did not receive what he was entitled to.
“To be honest, I don’t have the urge to become a coach. While I was playing football, I saw a lot of things. I played football wholeheartedly but didn’t get the incentives I deserved. I feel our leaders didn’t look out for us well enough. When I look back, there was a lot of cheating.”
“And it wasn’t only me, about 98% of Ghanaian players. And it exists among all the teams in Ghana. Signing on fees, bonuses, and a lot of things are always an issue. It gets to a point where you just have to let go.”
“I loved football. Aside from playing, I really liked football. I used to watch second-division and first-division games. But because of what I went through, after I retired, I didn’t have the urge to become a coach or do anything football-related.”
He added that the situation has not improved and that has hindered him from becoming a coach or taking a football-related career patch after retirement.
“Nothing has changed. They will employ you as a coach but you wan’t your salary and it becomes a problem. You will have to fight for it. I love football but I don’t have the urge to do anything football-related, to be honest.
Following his retirement, Joe Louis worked with his brothers to run an automobile dealing company for a while, but he stopped along the line.