Partey’s path from Ghana to the Gunners | Feature | News

It’s little wonder, then, that Thomas was soon starting to get noticed further afield. It was while he was still playing in the second division of the Ghana league, that he attracted the interest of reigning Europa League champions Atletico Madrid, during the early days of management under Diego Simeone.

His passage to the Spanish capital though, was far from straightforward, as he explains: “A few weeks after I turned 18, I moved to Spain. I couldn’t travel until I was 18, because I didn’t have a passport growing up. I was in the second division in Ghana and that season we got promoted to the top division, but that was when I got my move to Spain.

“In my mind I had always wanted to play in Europe, so I knew that I had to go. It felt like magic for me, I had no idea where in Europe I would go – Spain or somewhere else – but it was always in my mind to move outside Ghana, and then I got my chance. So when my agent said I had the chance to go to Spain, I said ‘OK, I’m going. I’m leaving everything behind.’ Even though we had just got promoted.

“Everyone wanted to play in the Premier League in Ghana, that was what we had worked so hard for, but it was also my dream to move abroad. I had watched a lot of games on TV – from the Premier League, La Liga – all the top clubs. So that was always my plan. Then when I got the chance, I didn’t know if it would work, but I put all my trust in them and in the end it went well.

“Atletico Madrid wanted to sign me, but first of all I had to go to Leganes, because Atletico couldn’t sign me directly as I didn’t have a contract in Ghana. So that was short term, as a big favour from them to process my papers, then I could go to Atletico on a trial loan. That went very well, and then they signed me.”

So it was a dream move, but still, it wasn’t without its challenges. The teenage Thomas had to move continents, leaving home for the very first time, without any of his family to support him.

“Emotionally it was difficult to leave home for the first time,” the 30-year-old confirms, “but in my heart I’ve always just wanted to play football, so I would make it work. I put my mind just on doing well, trying to get selected for Atletico because it’s a big team.