There are stages in life that one’s career hit the rock and it is either you bounce back stronger or it ends your career.

There are also times you meet people you do not simply gel with without any reason and that’s the sad story of former Fulham and Black Stars defender John Paintsil.

The 38–year old recounting why his contract got terminated at Fulham in 2010 revealed that it was Roy Hodgson who signed him from West Ham United to Fulham. But after the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Roy left the club and a new manager, Mark Hughes took over and marked the beginning of his woes and terrible times.

According to Paintsil, he was performing very well but Hughes seemed not to appreciate all his efforts and selfless commitment on the pitch.

The former Leicester City defender speaking exclusively to Kasapa Sports said:

“When I joined Fulham in 2008 I was supposed to seal a four-year permanent deal with them but unfortunately for me, Roy Hodgson who brought me to the club left immediately after the 2010 world cup and I had to lift up my game to catch the eye and attention of the new manager Mark Hughes.“

“I remember my first day at training after world cup I confronted Mark Hughes about my contract and to find out whether he has plans for me but he told me to give him two weeks to make a decision many days and months past but he was still procrastinating and this was causing me severe despondency and dejection.”

“In fact I lost my mental strength and I began to score own goals. In one of those moments I scored four own goals in a month and this is unusual of me and this even got me thinking about retiring from the game. I believe I retired prematurely from football because of what I experienced at Fulham under Mark Hughes,” Paintsil told Adam Adjei on Dwidwamu on Kasapa FM.

John Painstil who made two appearances at the world cup played Berekum Arsenal, Liberty Professionals, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Hapoel Tel Aviv, West Ham United, Fulham, Leicester City, Santos and Maritzburg United of South Africa.