PETALING JAYA: R. Kogileswaran’s footballing adventure in South Korea is over and the 24-year-old playmaker is back in Malaysia to continue his career in the Super League.
Kogileswaran has ended his stint with Korean League Two club Cheongbuk Cheongju on mutual agreement and he will announce his new club today.
It is learnt that he could be moving to Penang, but he has also attracted interest from Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Terengganu.
The former Petaling Jaya City and Pahang player, who is the first Malaysian professional to play in South Korea, said he can’t go into details on why the decision to end his contract was made but insisted it was not due to his performance.
Kogileswaran has only played one game for Cheongbuk, when he featured in the 3-0 win over Seoul Jungnang in the Korean FA Cup third round in April.
He said he has left the club on good terms and will always remember the good treatment he got from the management, coaches and players at the club.
“I’m no longer a Cheongbuk Cheongju player. The decision to end my contract was by mutual agreement. I can’t go into details but one thing I can say is that it’s not due to my performance,” he said.
“It was tough to adapt at first but as the days went by, my performance got better in training. But there was a story behind this which I can’t reveal.
“The club will pay me my compensation. In my mutual agreement with them, I can’t disclose the reason why I left. If I did, they will claim damages from me.
“I’m happy to be back but I must thank Cheongbuk for taking care of me well. The management and owner of the club were great.
“I left on good terms. There were no ill feelings. I felt this was the best decision because my game time was limited.”
Kogileswaran was a Malaysian Under-23 team regular and made his international debut for Harimau Malaya in 2018, going on to win eight caps and score two goals.
He said his aim now is to regain his spot in the national team and hopefully push for an Asian Cup spot next year.
Kogileswaran believes the next club he joins will give him the minutes of play to prove that he has what it takes to return to the national team.
“A decision will be made today. So we will wait and see. There were offers from several clubs.
I just want to start playing, hopefully in the first XI,’’ he said.
“I’m opting for a lower wage, four times lower than I what I was earning in South Korea. I just need a platform to play regularly and try to get back into the national team.
“But I admit that will be tough, as Malaysia now have quality naturalised players like (Paulo) Josue and Endrick (Dos Santos). But if I persevere and put in the effort to impress, I have a good chance.
“If coach Kim (Pan-gon) believes I can work under his tactics, I’ll be more than happy to work for him. If I get the chance, I will work harder to return to Harimau Malaya.”
