JOHOR BARU: Former Argentine international playmaker Pablo Aimar has been dumped by his frustrated Malaysian club JDT after the 34-year-old’s injury problems sidelined him for most of the campaign.

Aimar, who signed a two-year deal with Johor Darul Takzim in September after leaving Portuguese side Benfica, was reportedly the highest paid player in the Malaysian top flight and club president Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim said he hadn’t proved value for money.

“As it is now, Pablo Aimar has not fully recovered from his [thigh] injury and cannot contribute 100%in the games played,” the Crown Prince of Johor wrote in a post on the club’s Facebook page.

“After playing two matches for JDT, we had to sit him out of six matches due to the injuries succumbed. With the high investment that we have made for our foreign players, we expected to field three foreign players at all times.”

Tunku Ismail said he had taken the decision along with head coach Cesar Jimenez, who he has since moved to a director’s role with the big-spending team third in the 12-team league, three points behind leaders Pahang, after 14 matches of the season. — Reuters

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on April 22, 2014.