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Revealed: How Rele Chose Pirates Over Sundowns

Revealed: How Rele Chose Pirates Over Sundowns

PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA - FEBRUARY 08: Relebohile Mofokeng of Orlando Pirates and Marcelo Allende of Mamelodi Sundowns during the Betway Premiership match between Mamelodi Sund

In a revealing interview with Soccer Laduma, Sechaba Mofokeng, father of rising star Relebohile Mofokeng, has opened up about the critical moment that led his son to sign for Orlando Pirates over Mamelodi Sundowns.

While Sundowns had shown strong interest and even made multiple house visits to express their intentions, it was Relebohile himself who ultimately made the call — and he chose the Buccaneers without hesitation.

"I’ll be honest. May his soul rest in peace – there was a Sundowns scout, a good man, I forgot his name, but he used to come to our house every weekend, without fail," Sechaba told Soccer Laduma.

"He told us they were very interested and would come back with an official offer. We said okay, we’ll wait."

Read: Time To Move On? Four Chiefs Stars Who May Need A Fresh Start

But that same night, a knock on the door changed everything.

"Pirates knocked on our door. They didn’t say, ‘We’ll come back tomorrow.’ They said, ‘We’re here now, and we want your son.’ You could tell they really meant business."

Wanting to respect their son’s wishes, the Mofokeng family turned to Rele for the final decision.

"We called Rele and asked him straight: ‘There’s Sundowns, and there’s Pirates. Who do you want to play for?’ He didn’t hesitate. ‘I want to play for Pirates,’ he said."

The very next day, Pirates returned, met with the family, and facilitated his move through the proper channels — including with the School of Excellence, where Rele was developing at the time. Since he was underage, his parents signed on his behalf.

The decision, it turns out, was pivotal. Mofokeng has since emerged as one of the country’s most promising talents and is now drawing attention from European suitors.

Read: The 10 Chiefs Stars Who Carried Nabi’s Season

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