Turkish Club Samsunspor Cancels Deal with Mohamed Ihattaren Over Contract Dispute

Mohamed Ihattaren traveled to Turkey this week for a medical examination and to sign his four-year contract with Samsunspor. The former PSV and Ajax player was warmly welcomed at the airport by Samsunspor supporters, but the club has ultimately decided not to commit to the 21-year-old player anymore.

The reason is the new demands of his manager and also father-in-law. "We had reached an agreement with Ihattaren. He would be paid per game for the first half of the season, as he is not in shape. He accepted the offer and our supporters welcomed him on his arrival, but suddenly his manager got involved," explained Yüksel Yildirim, the president of the Turkish club to the local newspaper Halk, revealing that the manager wanted "a monthly salary" for Ihattaren and "a large part of the amount" in case of a transfer.

And he added: "We did not accept that. I told them: You are a problem player, why should we pay you if you don’t play? We indicated that Ihattaren would play under the conditions we had previously agreed. If he did not accept that, it was over. His manager asked for more money. He did not accept our offer and left. In the end, it all comes down to money."

Ihattaren is free from any contract, after Juventus terminated his four-year contract earlier than expected. The young player with a promising career, judging by his debut at PSV, has fallen in performance after the death of his father and the departure of coach Mark van Bommel from PSV. He later joined Juventus, who had to loan him to Sampdoria because of his drop in form. He never