Jose Ramirez Barreto with wife Veronica at their residence on Wednesday. Picture by Pradip Sanyal

Calcutta: Goodbye Calcutta. The king of the Maidan is leaving the City of Joy with lot of pain in his heart. And it’s official now that there will be no more retraction from Jose Ramirez Barreto’s stand to end a glorious four-year stint with Mohun Bagan club.

Announcing this on Wednesday, the Brazilian pointed out he’s leaving the green-and-maroon brigade on his own terms and he’d no qualms about his decision.

Explaining this at a packed press conference in his Bosepur residence, the Brazilian took a dig at the club officials’ threat to show cause him. “I’ve taken this decision because I’ve reached my limit,” he said.

“They can’t oblige me to play. If Mohun Bagan can break contract with players in the middle of a season, so can a player,” Barreto maintained.

“It’s not new in Mohun Bagan. In the past, they have sacked so many foreigners, breaking contracts with them in the middle of a season. Now as a player, I have every right to do the same thing. And they can’t force me, threaten me to play,” he added.

Barreto said that he’s prepared to face any objection to his move from the club. “Let them show cause me. Let them move the IFA or even Fifa. I have my own answers to their complaints,” he remarked. The Brazilian also informed he might bring the matter to the notice of the Brazilian football federation and the Fifa, if the need be.

Barreto denied his departure was tinged with unprofessionalism. “Everybody knows me, my image. You may ask Subrata Bhattacharya and other coaches about my commitment to the club”, he shot back.

“I don’t have any hidden agenda. My decision is entirely taken for the betterment of Indian football. That, please show more respect to the players, and the foreigners in particular”.

Mohun Bagan’s No. 10 also had a few words of advice for his teammates. “Don’t lose heart and work as a team. More importantly, pay respect to your own position, both monetarily and as a player,” Barreto said.

When the news of Mohun Bagan’s win over Dempo SC was conveyed to him, his eyes glowed with delight. Always a teamman, he showed the same passion and interest in his team even during his final bow.

Hoping that the club would release him, he vehemently denied his stand was aimed at forcing the club to clear his dues.

[The club assistant secretary, meanwhile, said Barreto’s dues would be cleared at the earliest.]

The Brazilian also refused to divulge the names of any official when he told reporters that he had expected “more respect to players from some of the officials”.

“It’s not a decision taken in a haste. I’ve been contemplating on this for the past five or six months,” he said. “Besides, it’s not the time to say which official is bad or good. I don’t have any problems and that’s why I’m leaving peacefully”.

A ball charmer and crowd puller ever since he joined the club in 1999, Barreto said he would leave for his native country “as soon as possible… may be this weekend”.

For the fans he, however, left a glimmer of hope. “I may come back,” was his parting shot.