The former Asante Kotoko striker said the English side wanted to sign him after he starred at the 2007 U-17 World Cup.
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Lack of work permit prevented me from joining Manchester City – Ransford Osei
Former Ghana youth star Ransford Osei says the lack of a work permit scuppered his move to Manchester City.
Ransford Osei: Lack of work permit prevented me from joining Manchester City
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Osei was a celebrated footballer at youth level, playing and excelling at several junior tournaments.
He was a member of the Black Starlets side that won bronze at the 2007 U-17 World Cup, where he emerged as the winner of the golden boot.
Ransford Osei
Pulse Ghana
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Osei was also part of the Black Satellites team that won the Africa Youth Championship in 2009 as well as the U-20 World Cup in the same year.
According to him, he trained with Manchester City for three months but couldn’t join the club due to his inability to secure a work permit.
“I had the chance to train with Manchester City. I trained with them for three months. They wanted to get me a work permit but weren’t successful because I hadn’t featured for the Black Stars for some percentage of matches,” Osei told Humble Ike on YouTube.
“I travelled to Manchester with the two Brazilian twins, Raphael and Fabio Da Silva. We took the same flight; they went to United and I went to City.
“Alex Ferguson managed to get work permits for them but Manchester City couldn’t do the same for me. So after three months, I had to leave to Israel, where I joined Maccabi Haifa.”
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The ex-FC Twente and Granada striker recently announced his retirement from football at the age of 30.
He also narrated how he came close to joining Spanish giants Real Madrid in the summer of 2007.
“After the U-17 World Cup, I was a hot cake. A lot of teams wanted me; even Real Madrid wanted me.
“They tabled an offer for me and Daniel Opare, but Kessben FC said their money wasn’t enough so they rejected the bid,” Osei revealed.
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