CAIRO: Essam El-Hadari is set to take legal action against former Ahly boss Manuel Jose after the latter had publicly criticized him.
Angola coach Jose was quoted by Emirate magazine Super as saying that “El-Hadari would abandon his family for the sake of money.
The Abu-Dhabi-based magazine published a lengthy interview with Jose, where he launched a scathing attack on Egyptian media, before turning the fire on the Egypt number one.
“I won’t comment about what [Jose] said about me, but I have called my lawyer and I will sue him, El-Hadari said in an interview with On TV.
“If he denied saying it, I will sue the magazine.
However, Super managing editor Ayman Badra interfered in El-Hadari’s TV interview and confirmed Jose’s quotes, stressing that the Portuguese made other unspeakable comments.
“Of course Jose said this and more, we had to remove some unpleasant words, the least of it when he described Egyptian reporters as ‘donkeys’, said Badra.
The early impressions of El-Hadari’s frosty relationship with Jose came in 2005 when the latter ripped the veteran goalie of the Ahly captaincy for no reason.
However, the 37-year-old accepted the harsh decision to become one of the pillars of the then Jose side, even so the latter rarely applauded him.
In March 2008, El-Hadari made a controversial move from Ahly to Sion, citing “Jose’s treatment as the main reason behind his notorious departure.
Meanwhile, El-Hadari has reiterated his desire to return to Ahly, admitting that he made a huge mistake when he left for Switzerland.
