Former Cranes international Mike Sserumaga on failed move to FC Porto
November 1, 2024
Ex-Uganda Cranes midfielder Mike Sserumaga has explained the reasons behind his unsuccessful attempt to join Portuguese giants Porto, stating that while he had successfully completed the trials, his agent chose a transfer to Sweden instead.
In an interview with Spark TV, Sserumaga emphasized that prior to signing with the Swedish team Helsingborg in 2008, he was on the verge of transferring to Porto; however, the deal ultimately did not come through.
“I went to FC Porto with the help of my foreign agent, when I reached there I had trials and they told me I have the potential to play for their senior team. They however told me that i cannot directly feature for the senior team due to the country I was coming from since it was not known by them and they only knew Iddi Amin.So they told me that I will first play for the U19 team for at least one year and the salary that I was to receive.
“By then I was on the senior national team. When, I returned to Uganda, i sat down with my agent here. I narrated to him everything about the move to Porto but my agent told me to sign for Helsingborg since the move was already in the pipeline and we received $100000. He told me Porto is big club but in Sweden you are heading straight to the senior team although it didn’t go well there since I got a terrible injury. So that’s how I lost the deal to Porto but I had a chance to return there but the injury affected me.”
In Uganda, Sserumaga played for Police FC, URA FC, Vipers SC, SC Villa, Lweza FC, Victoria University, and Proline. Internationally, he represented the Swedish club Helsingborg, as well as Rwanda’s Rayon Sport and St. George of Ethiopia. For the senior national team (Uganda Cranes), he earned 34 caps and scored six goals. He also participated in the prestigious Buganda Masaza Cup for Mawokota, winning the 2005 tournament.