On Saturday, Orlando Pirates midfielder Thabang Monare has revealed the details behind his contractual wrangling with the club in the off-season. Initially, the Buccaneers released a statement that they had parted ways with Monare after they could not agree on terms for a new deal.
However, the two parties eventually reached an agreement and brought Monare back to the team. Monare explained that there was no bad blood between him and Pirates, and that the statement was released while the negotiations were still ongoing.
“I think it was a breakdown of contract negotiations whereby it was not a matter of the club said to me ‘No, we don’t need you’ or anything like that,” Monare explained on Marawa Sports Worldwide.
“It’s just a matter of having differences in the process of negotiating and I don’t know honestly who got hold of that story when it was in that process, it was released and my mom even went to say, ‘But Thabang why don’t you tell me you’re no more part of Pirates?’ And I was like what!?”
After Pirates made a U-turn on Monare, there were reports that new head coach Jose Riveiro influenced the Soweto giants to take him back, as he had him in his plans. Monare said he didn’t follow the story, but felt like the Spanish coach knew him when they were introduced.
“I didn’t really got to understand the story of the coach’s side but when I greeted him I felt like he knew me and he asked me how do I feel being with the club again and I was like ‘Coach, I’ve always been happy to be the club and now looking forward to working with you,” he added.
