How Alhaji Gruzah 'forced' me to Hearts of Oak instead of Asante Kotoko - Eric Gawu

Former Ghana striker Eric Gawu has detailed the background story of his move from King Faisal to Accra Hearts of Oak.

Eric Gawu tells Ernest Brew Smith that he was made to join Accra Hearts of Oak against his wish.

Having stayed in Kumasi and enjoyed massive love from the residents of Kumasi, Gawu had wanted to move to Kotoko and continue his career in Kumasi.

Unfortunately for him, Alhaji Abdul Karim Gruzah, the owner of King Faisal, was against the move as it did not present the best financial package.

Gawu disclosed that after a meeting with Alhaji Gruzah and intervention from his father, he grudgingly agreed to join Accra Hearts of Oak.

“I told Alhaji that I wanted to stay in Kumasi and play for Asante Kotoko. At the time, Hearts were offering GH₵60,000 while Kotoko and Ashgold were offering GH₵40,000 and GH₵30,000 respectively. Alhaji told me that he needed money to run the team, so he was going to sell me to Hearts of Oak.

“The Hearts fans came to him and pleaded with him to sell me to them. It created a lot of confusion. I wanted to join Kotoko, but Alhaji is like a father to me. My father even had to intervene for me to play for Hearts of Oak,” he said.

Eric Gawu spent five years with Hearts of Oak, where he won the Ghana Premier League once and scored a number of goals for the Phobians.

In his playing career, Eric Gawu had stints with Al Sadd, Medeama, Dreams FC, among others.



EK