Siyethemba Sithebe has broken his silence on his impending move to Kaizer Chiefs after signing a pre-contract with the Soweto giants drew a backlash from his AmaZulu bosses.
The midfielder has given a simple reason on why he opted for Chiefs, a decision that saw him fall out with his Usuthu employers.
“It was an opportunity I couldn’t turn down,” Sithebe told Sun Sport.
“AmaZulu was like home to me and what they did was huge. I am where I am because of them and for that, I just want to thank them. As payers, we also have our dreams and we have to make them become reality.
“We also have to move on as we have things we want to achieve. But the club gave me love as my life changed. I went to play for Bafana Bafana and that is because of Usuthu and my profile is better now.”
Signing a pre-contract with Chiefs saw Sithebe angering AmaZulu president Sandile Zungu, who then ordered that the player should not be selected to play for Usuthu in 2022.
Zungu argued that Chiefs had started talks with the midfielder before the opening of the mid-season transfer window.
Despite being frozen out of matchday teams, Sithebe continued to participate in training to see out his AmaZulu contract which expires on June 30.
“It did affect me because I was someone who was used to playing,” added Sithebe.
“But sometimes such things happen in football. I knew the reasons behind it and my heart was clean, happy and motivating other players and wishing them the best all the time.”
The 29-year-old joined Usuthu from Mbombela United five seasons ago and became a star player at the KwaZulu-Natal side from where he broke into the Bafana Bafana fold.
He has never played Premier Soccer League football with any other team than AmaZulu and Chiefs would be his only other club to play top-flight league football with.
