Sechaba Mofokeng has revealed how his son, Relebohile Mofokeng, turned down a higher-paying offer from Mamelodi Sundowns to join Orlando Pirates. The decision was based on the young footballer’s belief that the Soweto giants would give him a better opportunity to progress into senior football.

Relebohile has since established himself as one of South African football’s most exciting talents. He became an important player for Pirates, earned recognition with Bafana Bafana and later secured a move to Belgian Super Cup champions Royal Union Saint-Gilloise.

However, his career could have taken a different direction if he had accepted Sundowns’ offer when he was still developing as a young player. According to his father, the Tshwane-based club wanted him to join their Under-19 team, with the possibility of moving to the reserve side if he performed well.

Speaking on Giants, Sechaba explained that Sundowns, under club president Patrice Motsepe, offered his son R15,000 per month. The plan was for Relebohile to play for the Under-19 side before potentially earning promotion to the DStv Diski Challenge team.

“Motsepe wanted him to play for the U19s and offered him R15,000 – and if he did well, they would promote him to the reserve team in the DDC,” Sechaba said.

The family had initially told Sundowns that they would provide an answer the following Tuesday. However, when that morning arrived, Orlando Pirates representatives were already waiting outside their gate with an offer of their own.

Sechaba recalled that the Pirates representatives explained that club chairman Irvin Khoza wanted Relebohile to join the club.

Unlike Sundowns’ proposal, Pirates offered the young attacker a place in their DDC team for R6,000 per month. This meant there was a difference of R9,000 between the two monthly offers.

Faced with the two options, Sechaba decided to let his son make the final decision. He explained the financial difference and made it clear that Relebohile had to choose the club where he wanted to continue his football development.

“The Pirates contract was to play in the DDC, for R6000. I asked them for two minutes to discuss it. Eish – I said the ball is in your court my friend.

“You choose Yellow, they give us R15,000 per month, you go to Pirates, they give you R6000 per month.”

Relebohile did not immediately answer his father. He said he would speak to him after their bath, leaving the family waiting to hear his decision.

When they eventually spoke, the young footballer made it clear that he wanted to join Pirates. Despite his father explaining the difference in salary, he remained determined to choose the Soweto club.

Sechaba then asked his son why he preferred Pirates over Sundowns. According to his father, Relebohile believed Pirates had a better route from the development structures into the first team because several players had made that journey.

“After the bath he said he wanted to go to Pirates, when I tried to explain he insisted on Pirates, I asked him why he was choosing Pirates, he said a majority of their players are coming from the DDC to make it into the first team.”

Relebohile’s decision marked an important step in his career. He progressed through Pirates’ development system before breaking into the senior team, where his performances helped him gain national recognition.

His development also earned him opportunities with Bafana Bafana before he moved to Europe to join Royal Union Saint-Gilloise. His journey shows how the decision to join Pirates, despite the lower initial salary, became a significant part of his rise in professional football.

Source: IDiskiTimes