Bengaluru FC owner Parth Jindal: Miku is an expensive player, we couldn't afford him

Bengaluru FC owner Parth Jindal is as disappointed as the club's fanbase about the decision to not retain Miku for the 2019-20 season of the Indian Super League (ISL). However, he feels it is a decision that the club had to take.

The Venezuelan striker had a memorable two-season stint with the Blues, wherein he scored 20 goals and provided four assists in 32 appearances. He left the club after the management decided not to renew his two-year contract due to financial reasons. His departure affected the club's performances in the attack as the Blues struggled to replace the fan-favourite striker.

On an Instagram live chat with the supporters' group West Block Blues, Jindal said, "Last year, one of the reasons we didn't get to the final was that we got our recruitment for striker wrong. We didn't have the quality of Miku.

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"Miku is an extremely expensive player. I took the call that we cannot afford to have Miku for another year purely on financial grounds. I also saw what other teams were doing around us. You always had ATK or Goa spending heavily on their foreigners but we took a call. Because we have such a strong Indian lineup and the philosophy was always about developing Indian talent."

He further added, "How long will Indian football have strikers and centre-backs as foreigners? I think this is where the national team (is affected). At the same time, you want to win the ISL. Other teams heavily invested in foreigners. That was a difference in the semi-final. (Kevaughn) Frater had a one-on-one with the goalkeeper, he missed. If he scores that, we were through. I couldn't believe it. If that was Miku...sometimes you make the right call, sometimes they don't go well, it's part of it."

Jindal also commented on the departure of John Johnson, who had been with the club since its inception before he left in 2018.

"Letting him (John Johnson) go wasn't really our call. Because of the way he plays, the offers for him came in with sky-high numbers. Even now, he is sitting at a lucrative salary with ATK. When the offers came, he spoke to me, asked me if there was anything I can do to keep him here because he didn't want to go. It is not fair of me to put pressure on someone to not take the money," the Bengaluru FC owner revealed.

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A post shared by West Block Blues (@westblockblues) on May 28, 2020 at 6:01am PDT