Olunga writes farewell message to fans after completing move to Qatar

Harambee Stars forward Michael Olunga has taken to social media to send a heartfelt goodbye message to Kashiwa Reysol fans and former teammates after completing his move to Qatar based side Al Duhail Sports Club.

As earlier reported by Standard sports, the 26-year-old striker joined Al Duhail Sports Club following his impressive performance with Kashiwa Reysol in the Japanese top tier, last season.

Kashiwa reportedly accepted a bid of about seven million Euros (Approximately Sh933 million) from Duhail.

The former Gor Mahia and Djurgårdens IF forward made the emotional address to passionate Kashiwa Reysol fans on his Twitter handle, saying: “It is with great pleasure that I hereby thank the entire Kashiwa Reysol family for your support for the past two and a half years

"My sincerest gratitude goes to the management, the team, and the supporters. I appreciate the confidence you all showed in me and for the opportunity you provided for me to represent you on the football pitch.”

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Thank you for everything @REYSOL_Official @J_League_En pic.twitter.com/jD8BmnMcj0 — MICHAEL OLUNGA (@OgadaOlunga) January 15, 2021

Olunga on Tuesday night made a losing debut after Duhail lost 3-1 away to current Qatar Stars League leaders Al Sadd, going straight into the seven-time Qatar champions’ starting lineup hardly a day after completing his mega-money move from Japanese side Kashiwa Reysol, pointed at a player whose qualities are unmatched. 

He featured for 65 minutes against an Al Sadd team that includes the likes of former Arsenal midfield magician Santi Carzola and Algerian striker Baghdad Bounejah, before paving way for Khaled Mohamed.

Late last year Olunga became the first African to claim the Most Valuable Player as well as the golden boot after scoring a staggering 28 goals in the just concluded 2020 J1 League season.

This saw the former Gor Mahia and Djurgårdens IF striker becomes the eighth player to lift the MVP and golden boot awards in the Japanese league in the same season.

Olunga started with Gor Mahia in 2015 when he was named the best player in the Kenyan Premier League after scoring 19 goals to help K’Ogalo lift their third consecutive title with an unbeaten record.

He then moved to Swedish top tier side IF Djurgarden where he netted 12 goals before joining Spanish side Girona on loan from Guizhou Zhicheng in 2018.

And on his La Liga debut, Olunga bagged a hat trick against Las Palmas in a span of 22 minutes to become the first Kenyan and African to score a hat trick in the Spanish top division.

He became the first Kenyan to play and score in a Japanese top tier league when he joined Kashiwa Reysol in 2018 and helped them earn a promotion back to the topflight football, just one year after being relegated.