“There was no contractual issue with Saleng and Orlando Pirates,” said Mathang-Tshabuse.
Monnapule Saleng’s agent Karabo Mathang-Tshabuse of P-Management Sport has finally broken her silence on the reported breakdown of a relationship between him and Orlando Pirates.
After starting last season with a bang and helping Pirates win the MTN8, Saleng was suddenly frozen out at the club in December. He was then loaned out to his former club Orbit College FC at the beginning of the current season.
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Reports emerged that the Bafana Bafana winger was not happy at Pirates and wanted out of the club. The reports were further fueled by a comment made by Saleng on the Giants documentary when he said that he was not okay.
‘Pirates not at fault’
Mathang-Tshabuse, however, says the reports were far from the truth.
“We see Monnapule Saleng saying ‘I’m not okay’ on that Giants [documentary] show. That is already an answer in itself that it was a season where mental fitness did not match physical fitness,” said Tshabuse during the Behind the Boot podcast.
“What I like is that from the Giants show or the Pirates show, Saleng is live, saying I am not okay, and granted, people are only getting it after the speculation about where he is and whether he really wants to be there.
“There was no contractual issue with Saleng and Orlando Pirates. Orlando Pirates and Saleng brokered a very good deal, and a deal that helped Saleng achieve a multitude of things, including buying property.”
“Orlando Pirates can never be faulted on that score. It can also not be faulted for what the player went through. So, the Al Ahly deal is nothing further than the truth. At that stage, Monnapule Saleng was not looking to leave. He was at Orlando Pirates, invested in the team, but just going through something,” she added.
‘Saleng loves Orlando Pirates’
Mathang-Tshabuse further revealed that Saleng loves Pirates and has a tattoo of the club.
“He has an Orlando Pirates badge tattoo. For him, he arrived at his dream when he played for Orlando Pirates,” she said.
“He needed the audience to just hold the line for him, and unfortunately, as much as social media can be powerful to build, it can be powerful to exacerbate and break a situation.
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“So, we find ourselves now having to explain a season where people were just ruthless. I then decided I’m not going to comment because I can’t say my client needs the mental fitness to be where his physical fitness is.”