35 year old Super Eagles striker Peter Osaze Odemwingie has joked of his infamous failed move to QPR football club in 2013 where he drove 150miles to QPR’s training ground and appeared on television claiming he was hopeful a deal between then club West Brom and QPR would go ahead. He referred to QPR as “we” in the interview, only for QPR to refuse signing him which turned the player a laughing stock among his west Brom team mates as he had already wished them goodbye.
According to Osaze, footballers now joke with the incident but he feels he was hard done by West Brom and even though he admits the video of him talking out of his car window like then QPR coach Harry Redknapp was a “big mistake”, his honesty cost him.
He said to Sun UK on Sunday:
“It gave me negative publicity but in the three clubs since I have laughed about it with my teammates. If someone at one of my other clubs left, we would call it an ‘Odemwingie’.”
“I was too honest, which was my downfall, and I have paid the price for that ever since. I wanted the move, everyone knew my intentions and I thought the deal was going to happen. It was a big mistake by me to go in front of a camera, but I definitely feel hard done by. West Brom felt I was forcing their hand, but it was not my call and it was partly their fault.
“I got all the publicity and had to answer all the questions, but there were lots of other people involved in the deal. The idea at the time was from one of the agents, and I can say 100 per cent I would never have done it otherwise. Have they, or anyone from West Brom given their side? No. They hung me out to dry. The terms were all of West Brom’s, none of mine. I accepted them, and then I drove down after saying my goodbyes assuming the move would happen only to look like a fool on camera.”
After the deal collapsed, he fell out with then West Brom owner Jeremy Peace and became a bench warmer– but says his reputation as a troublemaker is unfair.
He added:
“Steve Clarke (then West Brom coach) admitted the next day he thought it was going through, but I didn’t know at the time Junior Hoilett at QPR was going to go the other way, which muddied the water without my knowledge – so when he said it was ‘lunacy’ the next day, he knew the whole story. It was an odd atmosphere going back, as I promised my West Brom teammates to take them out for a meal to thank them for being supportive as I was a success at the club.”
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