After eight years at Kaizer Chiefs, winning two Premier League titles and several domestic trophies, Reneilwe Letsholonyane this week cooled down suggestions that he was forced out at Naturena because of his age.
The man who has planned a family holiday to celebrate his 34th birthday on Thursday, said he left the Glamour Boys on his own terms.
His imminent departure to join SuperSport United next season was confirmed by Chiefs a month ago, with many speculating that he was deemed too old to deliver on expectation, especially following a campaign in which Amakhosi failed to retain the championship and could not win any silverware.
“I was actually given a two-year contract.
“The club, obviously, wanted me to stay, and so did the coach (Steve Komphela) but I felt it was time to move on to face other challenges before I retire,” Letsholonyane revealed.
“I got injured when we played a CAF Champions League match in the Comoros in February and, for the first time in my career, I was scared. The injury was not supposed to be serious and I expected to be back playing in a week, but two months later I had not recovered.
“I think that is when I began to think about my future and my desire to get out of my comfort zone. Chiefs was my home and I was very comfortable there.”
Letsholonyane, whose contract at Chiefs officially expires at the end of the month, had been involved in talks to renew his deal for sometime, and the fear was that the club would treat him the same way they handled negotiations with former teammates Tinashe Nengomasha, Jimmy Tau, Josta Dladla and as recent as last week, Morgan Gould and Siboniso Gaxa. These players, partly because they were now ‘over the hill’ in their early 30s, were notoriously offered one-year contract extensions or shown the door by management.
“Fortunately for me, things were different, even at my age,” Letsholonyane said.
“I obviously thought about past instances. I don’t know their story, so it would be foolish to comment on that. But I was still a Chiefs player when that happened and I know that in football, players come and players go every season. I feel I still have a few more seasons left in me, but I wanted to spend those tackling other challenges and SuperSport became an ideal destination.
“I did not make this decision lightly. I had to consult my family about this, but at the end of the day I had to make the final call.”
Following a barren season, Chiefs were always expected to make changes to their playing personnel in pursuit of a fresh start to give Komphela the ammunition he needs to succeed in his second year in charge.
But the coach appeared desperate to hold on to Letsholonyane, who was selected almost immediately into the team soon after recovering from his ankle injury, while goalkeeper Reyaad Pieterse, another player heading to SuperSport, was sidelined when it became clear - with a few league matches remaining - that he would not extend his stay at Chiefs.
“Steve is more than a coach to me. We often spoke about life in general, not just football, so our relationship was a good and healthy one.
“It was always going to be difficult for him to just accept the fact that I am leaving the club. But he supports my decision to do so because of the reasons I gave him,” said Letsholonyane.
Yeye, as he is affectionately known, now moves to SuperSport to work under Stuart Baxter, a man responsible for guiding Chiefs to two league titles in the three years he spent with the Glamour Boys.
Baxter then replaced Gordon Igesund at SuperSport in January and helped them beat Orlando Pirates to win the Nedbank Cup last month.
“I only met up with Stuart when the club officially announced my arrival (on Thursday last week), but before that it was my agent who was dealing with all of this. I don’t think there was a need for Stuart and I to talk before I signed because I know what he wants from a player and he knows what to expect from me. We worked together for three years at Chiefs,” Letsholonyane said.
“It was not difficult for me to decide to join SuperSport once I had made up my mind about leaving Chiefs. All I need to do now is work hard to earn my place in the team.”
@superjourno - The Star