Former Orlando Pirates captain Happy Jele is still without a club and face a similar dilemma to Hlompho Kekana that he will be all but forced to hang up his boots without having a club.
Jele, 35, looked destined to retire at Pirates after spending 16 years with the club, however, he was released by the Buccaneers ahead of the 2021/22 season.
He was offered a role off the pitch, but felt he was not ready to hang up his boots and wanted to find a new club to prolong his playing days.
The likes of Cape Town City and SuperSport United opted not to pursue the veteran defender, while Royal AM were among the serious suitors.
But it seems the lack of concrete offers that met the wage demands he secured during his time with the Buccaneers has put off many interested parties as the halfway mark of the season approaches.
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As a consequence, Jele could be facing a similar end to his career to that of Kekana, who retired after a full season without professional football, as reported in the iDiski Times newspaper, edition 77.
Kekana left Sundowns after being offered an internal role inside the club but looked to prolong his career away from Masandawana.
On the bright side, Jele seems to have secured himself some sort of a gig with SuperSport TV, where he working pitch-side during the Soweto Derby this weekend.
As a free agent, Jele could sign for any club right now and doesn’t need to wait until the January transfer window opens. But it remains to be seen whether he can secure himself another club or perhaps opts to hang up his boots.
