Former Orlando Pirates winger Lebohang Mokoena has revealed whom he blames for not taking the opportunity to make history after an offer was put on the table to sign with Al Ahly while at the Buccaneers.
The rarity of South African players moving to the Egyptian Premier League was evident after former Bidvest Wits winger Phakamani Mahlambi became the first South African to play in Egypt after he was signed by the Red Devils in 2017.
Despite signing a four-year contract, Mahlambi lasted for only a season before he was signed by Mamelodi Sundowns after he struggled to adjust.
READ | Cheeseboy's Sundowns revelation to trigger Lorch links?
Pitso Mosimane made it possible for South Africans to go to Egypt again after he became the first Sub-Saharan coach to be in charge of Al Ahly in 2020, where he was followed by Percy Tau a year later at the Egyptian giants.
Mokoena has revealed that he had a solid offer from Al Ahly while he was playing for the Pirates U-17 junior team back in 2003 but his parents thought he was too young to live in Egypt.
"I had an offer from Al Ahly (before signing with Pirates senior team), I had just come back from the Under-17 tournament, I was Player of the Tournament, we lost in the final and I think also top goal-scorer," Mokoena said in an interview on Onside ZA show on MacG YouTube Channel.
"So (Al Ahly) said, 'This guy must stay here' but my mom said, 'No, you're still young to stay in Egypt and you still need to complete school', I think that's what put pressure on Pirates to say 'let's give him a first team contract'.
"Looking at it now I'd put the blame on my parents because I wanted to go, for me it was to actually get my football career outside of South Africa, because that's what I believed, for me to become the best in the world, I need to be out there with the best. When the opportunity came I was so excited that this could be a lifetime changing moment. It did not happen but I managed to move on because I was promised if there's another offer you'll go but it still didn't happen," he added.
Mokoena is currently without a club after parting ways with Moroka Swallows in July 2022 and also confirmed that he is contemplating retirement at the age of 37.
'Cheeseboy', who also had a seven-year spell at Sundowns after leaving his boyhood club Pirates in 2009, was one of the instrumental players who helped Swallows gain promotion from Motsepe Foundation Championship to the DStv Premiership in 2020.
You must be SIGNED IN to read and post comments.
Click HERE to register!
