Nigeria international, Ramon Azeez has confirmed that a proposed move to Manchester City fell through in 2010 due to a work permit obstacle.
Having put himself in the shop window at the 2009 FIFA U17 World Cup where he won the Bronze Ball as the third-best player of the tournament hosted by Nigeria, the former Golden Eaglets skipper was recommended to Manchester City by his United Kingdom-based manager.
With City pulling out of the race, Olympique Lyonnais and UD Almeria were the two remaining clubs battling for the signature of Azeez and the midfielder eventually settled for the Spanish side.
“If not for the tournament I don’t think I would have come to Europe very fast, the tournament opened a big way for me,” Azeez said.
“After the tournament, I was invited to Manchester City. When I got there it was very difficult due to paperwork.
“Then I got a call from my uncle that people from Spain were in touch, so I just had to leave England to go back to Nigeria.
“They sent my pre-contract to Nigeria, I signed the pre-contract in Nigeria and then we sent it back to Spain before I went to the embassy to get my papers.”
A product of Future Pro Academy, Azeez represented the Flying Eagles at the 2011 FIFA U20 World Cup and three years later he made his World Cup debut in Brazil.
