Paulo Josue also claimed that some of his teammates had not received their salaries since March, Stadium Astro reported.

The Brazil-born Josue said he had sought a discussion with the team management but had been fed with “empty promises”.

“Those are all empty promises because they never paid,” he was quoted as saying, adding that he is still playing for Kuala Lumpur City FC because he loves his team.

Stadium Astro also reported that the club’s CEO, Stanley Bernard, is expected to provide an explanation regarding the situation tomorrow.

In October last year, the 35-year old naturalised footballer had made a similar claim, saying that some of his teammates were no longer motivated to play after not being paid for months.

Josue’s dilemma is not unique to the Malaysian football scene.

In April, it was reported that more than 20 players from Perlis United Football Club, a third-division football team, were not paid their wages for two months, forcing several of them to take on side jobs, including dispatch work and rubber tapping, to eke out a living.