Mohamed Koffi fires back at Mortada Mansour

Burkina Faso defender Mohamed Koffi, who has been one of Zamalek’s best performers since joining in the summer of 2014, has lashed out at the club’s outspoken chairman Mortada Mansour following his abrupt departure.

Koffi flew to Burkina Faso without prior notice last week as he sought to unilaterally terminate his contract with Zamalek, whom he accused of mis-treating him and failing to fulfill their financial obligations towards the in-form defender, who can also operate as a central midfielder.

The 29-year-old, who is known for his acrobatic skills, said he did not want to go into detail about his feud with the club’s administration but that he was forced to respond to the insults directed at him by acid-tongued chairman Mansour.

He released a lengthy statement on his Facebook page on Saturday, listing the reasons for his fall-out with the club and saying Mansour had repeatedly lied about the situation.

“I’m not crazy to leave the club while I’m getting my money. If I was getting all the money in time I would have carried on at Zamalek until my retirement,” he said.

“They kept promising me that they would sort out the late payment but they never did and the club officials had even ignored my phone calls … I was also stunned by the chairman’s claims that I feigned injury. He did not bother to ask the team doctor and check the medical scans which show that I needed 45 days of rest because of a knee injury.

“I just want to remind (the chairman’s son and board member) Ahmed Mansour that I once borrowed money from him to be able to pay the school tuition for my three children. I cover the living expenses of more than 10 families between the Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso,” added Koffi, who was born in Abidjan.

Koffi, a fan favourite, affirmed his respect for the team’s faithful and said he would never play for Zamalek’s arch-rivals Ahly.

He also insisted he would not tolerate any bad language from Mansour, who launched a foul-mouthed tirade against him on Friday and said the player would be caught by the Interpol on fraud charges.

“It seems that Mortada Mansour had forgotten that I’m not an Egyptian player who would turn a blind eye towards any insults. I’m a professional player and I hold a Burkinabe diplomatic passport,” he added.

“Accordingly, I will take every measure that would preserve my rights after the chairman insulted me, my mother and my country.”

Koffi, who also played for Petrojet in Egypt, joined Zamalek after ending a brief stint with Iraqi side Duhok. He played an instrumental role in helping the club win the Egyptian Premier League in 2015 for the first time in 11 years.