The details of the attempts that there were made to take Monnapule Saleng away from Orlando Pirates have been disclosed as he deals with a fresh challenge at the club.
Saleng has five goals (plus one assist) in 13 appearances this season but has also not played in just as many games.
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The 26-year-old has only played thrice in the league this term and has featured just once in the last nine matches in the Betway Premiership.
He played twice in October, once in November and once again in December.
"I had a meeting about Saleng with a top-ranking Pirates official in Hyde Park," discloses Rui Frois, who works as an agent on both the local and international markets.
Saleng was wanted by UAE Pro League club Al Nasr SC, who were keen to hand him a tax-free package of at least USD700 000 (approx. R13,4 million) in his first year with a possibility of even tripling his earnings into the third year depending on his performance.
"Those talks happened after the season in which he scored 15 goals.
"However, at that meeting I was told that he is not for sale because he was the main player in the team at the time.
"The Gulf Region team was serious about Saleng and wanted to give him a good contract.
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"My close contact, who is an agent in the UAE, tasked me with doing this deal here in South Africa and since he wasn't a player in our stable, we did what we had to do in contacting the club after also contacting some people that we were told worked with him.
"Unfortunately, we couldn't proceed, and it is sad that the boy is no longer enjoying as much game-time now," says Rui Frois.