From the archive: Forget the rumours I'm staying, says an angry Da Gama - January 1988
A very angry Owen Da Gama told the '˜Journal' that recent media reports claiming that he was about to leave Derry were 'absolute rubbish' and a report in a local paper to this effect was collated without his knowledge.
“I have just spent my entire savings on purchasing a new home in the Foyle Springs area of Derry and have no intention whatsoever of seeking a transfer from Derry City Football Club. I want that one fact made clear.”
Da Gama, who is presently being treated for a knee injury by club physiotherapist, Linda Weir, is expected to be out of the side for a few more weeks. The article, which so annoyed the South African striker described him as the “highest paid footballer in Ireland” and stated that rumours circulating in the town suggested that his absence was more by choice than injury.