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Orlando Pirates chairman Irvin Khoza admits he is sad to see Thabo Matlaba go

Orlando Pirates chairman Irvin Khoza has admitted that he is sad to see one of the club's long-serving players leave.

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Thabo Matlaba parted ways with the Buccaneers after it was revealed that he turned down a salary decrease. Pirates were more than willing to keep the former Free State Stars defender, because they value his leadership and experience, but Matlaba did not want to stay for a lower salary package, so he decided to part ways with the Soweto giants.

Matlaba spent seven years with the Buccaneers, making over 200 appearances.

READ: Bucs close in on Gabuza replacement

"Matlaba it's unfortunate that he had to leave. As our former captain – a responsible captain – we wanted to keep him. We asked him to make considerations on his package and come back with a proposal and he could not see himself reducing his package and he wanted his clearance," Khoza said.

"May I add that [Juan] Mata at Manchester United, because of the same situation, he was asked to consider and I think he changed his package by less than 45 000. He understands the reality of football. When you get to a certain age, it's not the same as when you are 21 or 22. So we tried to make it easy for him. There's so much qualities in him as a leader that we yearn to have kept, but unfortunately because of his circumstances, which I understand, he had to go somewhere to maintain the same salary structure. But we wanted to keep him. It's sad to leave a player."

Khoza also had a say on midfielder Mpho Makola, who has been put on transfer.

"Makola we have not yet lost, because he is still with the club in terms of his position. He has been placed on transfer."

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