By OkayGoal 
Former Hearts of Oak midfielder Emmanuel Nettey has recounted how quickly events unfolded once he decided to leave Accra to Iraqi club Duhok SC in 2022
After finally rejecting Hearts of Oak’s offer, Nettey was called again by Duhok’s president who had initially pleaded to see the player in time to feature in on of the most important matches the club had in the season.
“He said they have been able to shift the game from Monday to Thursday because I’m not around,” the 33-year-old recalled.
This gesture struck Nettey deeply.
“I realised I had not even gone to the team, but this is how they are going to treat me if I get there. They had not even seen me play. They had only seen my video.”
That same day, Nettey gave his word: “Right there I told the president I’m ready.” The president responded that his flight ticket would be sent the next day.
“The game was on Thursday, so they moved the game again to Saturday. I left Ghana on Wednesday, got to Iraq on Thursday, trained on Friday and played the game on Saturday.”
It was a whirlwind transition, but for Nettey, Duhok’s commitment showed the kind of respect he was seeking â something he didn’t feel was fully returned by Hearts of Oak.