Titles not money behind Fakri's Kelantan move

By FOX Sports staff

Instead, it is the prospect of winning silverware that has influenced his move to the Sultan Mohammad IV Stadium, which will be completed in April.

Fakri created waves last year when he signed a contract with Portuguese lower-division side Atletico SC; a six-month deal which is only due to expire at the start of June.

However, it has emerged that his services will no longer be needed once Atletico's current campaign ends in a week's time, and the striker has decided to return to Malaysia to join Kelantan, as confirmed by his agent Marco Guimares.

"It's true that his contract will only end on June 1 but it was understood from the very beginning that his club wanted him for only three months, unless Atletico made it for a promotion playoff," he said, according to the New Straits Times.

"The club offered him a six-month contract because in Europe, there cannot be a playing contract for a duration of less than six months and Fakri is free to leave the club once the season is over."

Although he admitted his client would have preferred to continue his career in Europe, Guimares insisted the key motivating factor in his move to the Red Warriors was the chance to win trophies.

"The chance of that [staying in Europe] happening is almost zero and that was why he jumped at an opportunity to go back to his home state when Kelantan came knocking on his door," he added.

"He accepted a decent offer from Kelantan but the deal clincher was because he thought he would stand a chance of winning silverware playing for the team who won three major trophies last season."

Fakri is the second player to return to Malaysia in recent weeks, after hot prospect Nazmi Faiz, also a client of Guimares, ended his stint with Portuguese top-flight club Beira-Mar to join PKNS FC.

Nonetheless, he does not believe they should be regarded as failures just because they did not succeed overseas.

"Most people thought these players had made it when they signed up for their clubs in Portugal," Guimares added. "But believe me when I say that life is not a bed of roses there.

"Fakri has gained valuable experience playing for Atletico in the last few months and he may have a chance to play for bigger clubs there in the future but for now, let him come back home in peace."

Fakri was part of the Malaysia Under-23 side that won gold medals at both the 2009 and 2011 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.