DURBAN – Supersport United reported Pitso Mosimane to Mamelodi Sundowns president, Patrice Motsepe, for approaching their star midfielder Aubrey Modiba directly.
The Brazilians were keen on acquiring Modiba but couldn’t agree terms with Matsatsantsa A Pitori in the past two transfer windows.
SuperSport chief executive Stanley Matthews expressed his displeasure at Mosimane’s antics but the dust is settling following a meeting with Motsepe.
“Aubrey was approached directly by Pitso but I’m glad that saga is now behind us. We had a good meeting with Sundowns president over the matter. There was a breach of protocol from Sundowns. But we sat down and talked about the matter and we won’t be taking any action as the club.
We hope that our good relationship with Sundowns will continue, we have big respect for the club. They are seasoned campaigners in Africa,” Matthews explained.
Matthews and Mosimane enjoyed a good relationship when the pair were together at SuperSport.
“Pitso is a wonderful coach but he shouldn’t have done what he did. He is very passionate about the game. He wears his heart on his sleeve and I love him as a coach and as a person. But when he is wrong, we must be able to say he is wrong.
We won’t take it personally. It is now done and it is behind us. I’m certain that it won’t happen again,” he added.
Modiba has struggled with injuries this season.
“Aubrey still has two and a half years left on his contract. He is not for sale. Sundowns approached us in August and recently. At first we said no outright. In this window there was a potential deal but it never got off the ground. We wanted his head to be at SuperSport after he was approached by Sundowns and that’s why we extended his contract.
“Obviously, I can’t match Sundowns in terms of salaries but I can give him job security and a lengthy contract. He is happy at the club and has an international buy-out clause.”