Nope, you didn’t read the headline wrong. Like teen prodigy Ben Davis, Irfan Fandi was offered an opportunity to ply his trade in the bigger leagues.

But here’s the thing: unlike the former, Irfan chose to…

Reject it.

WHY? Is it because of that? The unspeakable, ominous 2-year-stint known only as…

National Service?

Well apparently not, for Irfan Fandi, son of Singaporean legend Fandi Ahmad, has cited a hefty penalty fee as the core reason for not accepting it.

As well as loneliness during trials, but let’s not go into that. Yet.

You know you want it 😉

The deets, I mean. And here you go:

According to Channel News Asia, local footballer Irfan Fandi has turned down the chance to play for Portuguese club Braga, stating that he struggled with “loneliness” during trials.

Just last month, the 21-year-old had undergone trials with the top division side and was actually offered a “two plus two” year deal. Lest you’re unaware, that would equate to two years in the club, with an additional option to extend by another two.

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However, despite the glamorous offer (a top division side in the Portuguese league???), Irfan ultimately decided to reject it because of the length of the contract, as well as the penalty fee in the event that he breaks it.

“It’s a really long contract and they had a clause where if I were to leave in the two years before the ‘two plus two’ starts, I will have to pay a 15 million euros or dollars penalty,” he said.

“Who knows in the two years I could get homesick or something could happen to me and we’re stuck with the 15 million fine.”

It’s unknown how much he’ll be paid, but for a $15 million penalty, his pay cheque should be pretty good, too.

He added, however, that the football experience was generally positive. The loneliness, on the other hand, was not.

“It wasn’t the best trip for me, other than football,” he said.

“Football was great, it was fun. But I just felt really alone, really bored a lot of the time. If my family was there it would have been a different case, but I was alone and it was really hard for me.”

Does Ben Davis feel lonely, too?

Many fishes in the sea

But it seems that Irfan doesn’t have to mope over his decision for long, as he already has a few offers on the table.

“I have two offers from Chile, and in the region, I have a few as well. So it’s not over for me. You know as they say when one door closes a new door opens. I’ll take it positively and work towards it.”

The young footballer will make a decision on his future after the AFF Suzuki Cup – which, if Singapore does get into the Finals, would end on 15 December 2018.

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Comments

What do the Singaporean Netizens have to say about this latest development? Let’s check it out.

Some reckoned he should take a pot shot at it.

While some were kind of ‘nice’ about it.

Guess people were focusing on the “lonely” part instead of the $15 million penalty. Which, by the way, is why we included it in the headline to debunk that because seriously, we’re sure that if he got an offer to play for Manchester United, he won’t feel lonely.

Although to be fair, some were genuinely nice about it.

And of course, a local football article wouldn’t be complete without the man, the myth, the legend…

Ben Davis.

Whichever floats your boat

As a football fan, I would of course want to see a Singaporean footballer grace the stages of International football, and show the world that just like the Fandi Ahmad days, Singapore can strut some stuff on the football pitch as well.

But then again, I’m but a fan. I’m not the one playing football out there, going through trials and flying around without my family in tow.

So really, I’m just gonna give Irfan a break, and support his decision. Because at the end of the day…

It’s his own career.

So kudos, Irfan, and all the best in your footballing journey. Like how his dad would probably put it…

If not, make Young Lions proud 😀

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