Calcutta: Just when East Bengal looked to have turned the tide in the National Football League (NFL), Mike Okoro dropped a bombshell on Tuesday.

In a surprise swipe at the club management as well as coach Philippe de Ridder, the Nigerian said he is hoping to play for Mohun Bagan next season.

“I don’t want to play for East Bengal any more. There are too many problems here,” Okoro remarked after attending the team’s practice session in the morning.

He even went on to praise the arch-rivals, saying that “Mohun Bagan are playing well under the new coach (Biswajit Bhattacharya)? It gives me immense pleasure to see them again in title contention. Full credit to the new coach.”

The Nigerian playmaker also made it a point that even if Mohun Bagan didn’t “approach” him, he had made up his mind of moving out of the city.

The East Bengal management had taken strong exception to Okoro’s decision to leave for Poland for personal reasons midway through the NFL.

Though he came back and escaped punishment, De Ridder is learnt to be unhappy with his attitude. The player has fallen out with the management over his contract.

“East Bengal Club will never forget Okoro’s contribution. But I can’t comment anything on his decision right now,” a club official said.

A meeting between East Bengal officials and Okoro cannot be ruled out.