In the latest edition of Negotiating Behind the Scenes, Orlando Pirates legend Dan 'Dance' Malesela reveals the behind-the-scenes details on how he sealed a deal to sign for rivals Mamelodi Sundowns.
Who I signed for?
"I signed for Mamelodi Sundowns."
How did you find out?
"Well, I got homesick when I was in Durban and the coach then at Manning Rangers Gordon Igesund wanted to be part of the negotiations for my new contract. I asked why should he be part of my salary negotiations. I disagreed with that. Fortunately, Screamer Tshabalala had already requested that Sundowns get me. And I was very cheap too you know; I think they sold me for R80 000. The owner Kaycee Reddy didn't actually want to sell me because I and he were very close."
Where did you meet?
"At the Sundowns offices, they were still in this street in Johannesburg, I just forgot its name."
Who was there?
"I had negotiations with Natasha [Tsichlas] in terms of salary. It was only the two of us. I was coming straight from Manning Rangers so she actually wanted to know how much I was earning. But I said 'No what are you giving me?'
"Fortunately it was money good enough for me to accept at the time. It took us 10 minutes. I think it was R17 000 gross, plus there was a signing-on fee on top. At the time people had written me off because of the injury, but I came back to win the one trophy I did not get while I was at Orlando Pirates, the league title. All of a sudden I was winning it season after season at Sundowns. That helped me to renegotiate again and get a new contract."
What surprised you?
"Well the one thing that surprised me was the salary offer and the signing-on fee stuff. There were no stories regarding the signing-on fee. She was very honest."
Did you get what you wanted?
"Everything that I wanted."
Did you see out the contract?
"So, because there was a season where they loaned me out. It was four years with an option of extending it for another year or two. After the loan, I went back to Sundowns, but then I realised I was getting old, I think I was 36 when I stopped. But I did not officially say I'm retiring you know, I just stopped."
What would you change?
"The only thing I would change is to say when you are on loan you cannot play against Sundowns. That's a very bad thing for a player's career. When they loaned me to Wits University FC I was not allowed to play against Sundowns, and it was very painful. Painful as it was, I helped the [Wits] coach to plot against Sundowns to win that match."