Former Orlando Pirates and Bafana Bafana midfielder Thandani Ntshumayelo has revealed what influenced his decision to retire at the age of 33.
Ntshumayelo announced on Thursday that he is hanging up his boots after breaking through the professional ranks in 2009 for SuperSport United, coming from the academy.
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'Bibo', as the hard-running midfielder is fondly known, had a successful career at SuperSport United, where he won two league titles during the period they won the championship titles three years in a row, between 2008 and 2010 under former coach Gavin Hunt.
Ntshumayelo left Matsatsantsa for greener pastures in 2012, where he made his name at Orlando Pirates but his career was in serious jeopardy in 2016 after his drug ban for four years because he tested positive for cocaine.
However, the diminutive midfielder's ban was lifted having served only two years and was given a lifeline to play professionally again by Baroka FC in 2019. However, Ntshumayelo struggled to re-establish himself at Bakgaga and spent two years without a club before he was given another chance by Swallows in 2021.
The 33-year-old says the frustrations of not being paid at Swallows played a part in him making the decision to retire.
"Swallows played some part in that to be honest. It made my decision to be easier. But I'm also grateful to the president, to the club for giving me a chance to be part of it," Ntshumayelo said on Radio 2000's Game On.
"I'm that player that believes in running. Even if you remember my game was based on running and if I don't enjoy doing that anymore by myself, so what's the point of wasting time?" 'Bibo' continued and says he's grateful to the Birds chairman David Mogashoa for giving him the opportunity but not getting paid was something he was not used to.
"Ja, for sure. If you remember I just came back...that's why I'm saying I'm grateful for the opportunity they gave me, I'll always cherish that," he said.
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"When I came back from the ban, everything was starting to pick up and we had a situation where we were not getting paid and everything. "But it's one thing for the past. It made me strong and I learned. To be honest, it had never happened in my career. At Baroka, I was getting paid on time, at Pirates, at SuperSport, even at the academy I was getting paid on time," he added.
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