‘I broke Bobby’s heart’ – Former Kaizer Chiefs winger recalls

Former Kaizer Chiefs winger George Lebese reveals Amakhosi were not happy when he jumped ship in 2017.

The 35-year-old retired footballer left Amakhosi after eight years to join his boyhood club Mamelodi Sundowns in 2017. His dream move turned into a nightmare as he only made a handful of appearances in the two years he spent in Chloorkop.

Speaking to ex-Kaizer Chies winger Josta Dladla, Lebese explained on Izinja zeGame what happened behind the scenes.

“There was a lot of influences at that time because it was during coach Steve Komphela’s era. I was not playing much and I was at the peak of my career where I should have been playing much.

“But for some reason, I was not playing. People get it wrong and think me and coach Steve have something going on and we don’t like each other, but he was a mentor to me. But he was not playing me and it did not make sense to me,” he said.

“The coach is the one who selects the players, so I am going to play under this guy. My agent was telling me ‘Go there’. But my agent was supposed to be realistic with me,” said Lebese added.

Ex-Kaizer Chiefs winger explains move to Sundowns

“Coach Pitso played me the first couple of games and all of a sudden, I don’t know what happened. Firstly it was the fitness – they said I’m not fit and then I started training three times a day. They told me ‘We need you at a certain weight’. I went even below that – I still did not play. I was engaging them in the office and kept on asking, how can I improve?

“(Before joining Sundowns) coach Pitso even gave me the line-up. Every line-up I was there. He said ‘It’s you, it’s Mshishi (Themba Zwane), it’s Percy Tau – you guys are going to play together, I can play you as a false number nine’. That time I was sitting at Chiefs and I was not playing.”

The former winger said he broke the heart of Kaizer Chiefs Football Manager Bobby Motaung.

“I broke Bobby’s heart because the coach (Pitso) told me I don’t have to worry about the salary because I was going to get bonuses because I told him they are offering more,” Lebese added.

Did Lebese kill his career by joining Downs?

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