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| Safee Sali joins the Southern Tiger (Photo Courtesy www.murkiester.com) |
The 28 year-old have previously dismissed any transfer movement and his linked to big-spenders Johor. He said he is fully committed and focus solely on first leg semi-final AFF Suzuki Cup against neighbours Thailand and does not looking to move elsewhere at the moment. But rumours begin to emerge suggesting he will meet Johor's representative in a ceremony yesterday night to finalise the deal, a rumours that he strongly denied. Both Malaysia national head coach, K. Rajagobal and FAM are furious with Johor's approach, citing that it may cause disruptive over player's attention during the tournament season. Nonetheless, Johor finally concludes the deal at Wisma FAM with his parent club's permission, Arema Indonesia, until the end of the next season. Safee will join the long list of star players in the Southern Tiger side, with the likes of national team-mate Shahrul Idlan Talaha, Safiq Rahim and Aidil Zafuan, as well as two European stars, Dani Guiza and Simone Del Nero.
Safee Sali is best known in Malaysia and South East Asia region, when he won the Golden Boot Award during AFF Suzuki Cup 2010 victory, scoring 5 goals. He started his career with Kuala Lumpur in 2003, making 31 appearances and scored 20 goals with another 4 loan appearances for Melaka TMFC. He signed for the Borneo side, Sarawak, in 2005, making 26 appearances and scored 10 goals. He return to Malaysia Peninsular in 2006, signing with one of the top Malaysian club, Selangor, making a total of 105 appearances and scoring 36 goals. In 2011 season, he made the headlines when he became the first Malaysian player to play outside of Malaysia, signing with Indonesian Super League side, Pelita Jaya, making 42 appearances and scored 27 goals. He joined Arema Indonesia in 2012 after the owner of Pelita Jaya emerged both of the club during a long dispute of Indonesian FA over the Indonesian Super League as an illegal league with high possibility of FIFA suspension, before signing a loan deal with the Southern Malaysia side, Johor.