A fatal mistake: How Hapoel Be'er Sheva torpedoed the Kings Kangwa deal

In Greece, intriguing details have emerged regarding the behind-the-scenes battle for Kings Kangwa, claiming that AEK Athens was very close to signing him from Hapoel Be'er Sheva but lost the player following a last-minute attempt to reopen negotiations.

According to a report on the Greek website 'paixebala.gr', AEK had already received the approval of Hapoel Be'er Sheva CEO Nir Katz, considered the right-hand man of owner Alona Barkat, as well as the consent of Kangwa's agents. From the perspective of all parties, the deal was already closed.

However, AEK's sporting director, Javier Ribalta, noticed how interested Hapoel Be'er Sheva was in having the midfielder play in the European qualifier against Vikingur and decided to try to improve the terms. Despite the existing agreement, he requested to reduce the transfer fee by approximately half if Kangwa played in the match.

Katz rejected the request outright, but the drama did not end there. While the team bus was already on its way to the stadium and Kangwa was preparing for the game, Ribalta called again to announce that AEK was ready to complete the deal at the original price without conditions. Katz's response was firm:

"Now I will not sell him to you even for 10 million."

It is reported that Katz was angered by the repeated bargaining attempts and decided to walk away from the deal entirely. At this stage, Aris Thessaloniki entered the picture. The club's representative, Koutsolis, submitted a clean offer without conditions, which allowed them to complete the transfer quickly.

Ribalta remained frustrated, and AEK owner Marios Iliopoulos made a final attempt to reach out to Kangwa's agents, but it was too late. At Aris, they believe that AEK lost the player precisely because of their attempts to negotiate at the last minute.