English expatriate footballer Cuba Mitchell has officially announced his departure from Bashundhara Kings, bringing an abrupt end to his much-hyped move to Bangladesh. The former Sunderland player joined the Kings at the start of the season but decided to walk away within just a few months.
Mitchell shared the decision on social media on Saturday, the third day of the new year, confirming that ongoing financial issues forced him to terminate his contract.
“𝑻𝒐𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒎𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑩𝒂𝒔𝒉𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂 𝑲𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒎𝒚 𝒔𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆,” 𝑴𝒊𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒘𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒆.
He also pointed to unresolved problems that made it increasingly difficult for him to continue, both mentally and physically.
Financial Turmoil Continues to Haunt Bashundhara Kings Mitchell
Bashundhara Kings, who entered the Bangladesh Premier Football League in 2018, were once known for signing big-name foreign players and paying bonuses beyond contracts. However, the club has faced severe financial difficulties since August, leading to unpaid wages for players and coaching staff.
The crisis has already resulted in FIFA imposing a transfer ban on the club. Several foreign players and coaches reportedly approached FIFA after not receiving their dues. While local players remained largely silent, national team defender Tariq Kazi previously left the club for similar financial reasons, now followed by Mitchell.
Despite being part of a three-season deal, Mitchell exited before even half the campaign was completed. He also struggled for game time and missed key matches, including an AFC fixture in Hong Kong.
Reflecting on his short stay, Mitchell said:
“𝑴𝒚 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆. 𝑰 𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆, 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒚𝒍𝒆, 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒍𝒚.”
As he signed off, Mitchell delivered a powerful message to fellow professionals facing similar situations:
“𝑵𝒐 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒅𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒇𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕.”
Efforts to reach Bashundhara Kings officials for comment were unsuccessful. The club has remained silent on Mitchell’s departure, as well as previous exits and FIFA sanctions.
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