He may not have played for Bloemfontein Celtic, but Lehlogonolo Masalesa is passionate about the club and has set himself a goal of buying them in future.
Masalesa confirmed to the Siya crew that he has retired from the game, having last played competitive football in 2021. The former Orlando Pirates, Bidvest Wits and Platinum Stars midfielder has ventured into business outside of football and while he has no interest in coaching or working within a club, he would love nothing more than to see Celtic playing in the top flight.
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Masalesa does not like the fact that the likes of Celtic and Wits, clubs that had a rich history in South African football, were sold and disappeared to the amateur ranks of domestic football.
If things go his way, the 32-year-old wants to fork out the money to buy Celtic because he feels their passionate supporters deserve to have the club playing in the top flight again.
Celtic sold its top flight status to Royal AM in 2021, triggering emotions of despair for the Phunya Sele Sele supporters whose blood was green and white. Since then, the Free State province has been starved of top flight football, but if Masalesa has his way, Celtic will be back with the big boys of South African football and it will be all because of him.
"We can't be selling clubs like Wits. We can't. We can't be having a dismantled Ajax (Cape Town). Let me make a billion and I'll buy Celtic. I really want to do. I want to buy Celtic. One day we will be sitting somewhere and I'll tell you that I have done it. Those people deserve (in Bloemfontein) a football club," Masalesa said to the Siya crew.
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"If I don't buy, then my son will buy it. I'll tell you a story. My father comes from Bakenberg in Limpopo. He wanted to put together a club, and he was a very good player. And then the king refused and said he would do his club in space. My father said to him 'if I don't become a professional football player, my son will be a footballer. Or if I don't own a club, my son will own a club'. So far, I have become a footballer, but we have not had a club in my family. So, that will happen, either through me or my son. The people of Bloemfontein deserve to have a Bloemfontein Celtic competing in the league. Their passion for football is unmatched."
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