Deda clears air on Mbega

Sports Reporter
LOCAL player intermediary George Deda has refuted claims that there was a conflict between him and Cameroonian midfielder Vincent Mbega who recently left Harare giants Dynamos.

Deda yesterday said he was in good books with the player when he left last month and said DeMbare coach Tonderai Ndiraya was the one who recommended for his release to accommodate new signings during the mid-season transfer window.

“For starters, no fight ever took place between me and the player. Maybe, there are some people out there who are out to tarnish my good name,’’ he said.

“What happened is that the player was offloaded by the club following recommendations by the coach who felt he was not getting value for money from the player.

“In fact, the Dynamos coach has never made it a secret that he wanted to beef up the squad by adding five new signings during the mid-season transfer window.

‘’Naturally, they had to release some players to create the space and Mbega was one of the targeted players.

“There was a mutual agreement to terminate the contract and this was reached after a series of meetings with all the relevant people.

“I think we had five marathon meetings and the Footballers Union of Zimbabwe was also involved to give advice on how best to terminate the contract and avoid violating the FIFA statutes like what happened with Christian Epoupa.

“Everything was done by the book and everyone was happy with the outcome. Anything besides this is not true.’’

Mbega was roped in by Dynamos during pre-season along with compatriot Claude Junior Ngahan.

The holding midfielder is a former Cameroon Under-20 World Cup player who also once turned out for Spanish side Mallorca II in the Segunda B, between 2010 and 2013.