Monnapule Saleng’s agent has clarified the details surrounding the situation involving the talented winger and Orlando Pirates. Saleng missed much of last season, which led to widespread speculation about his status.
Neither the club nor the player publicly addressed the issue at the time. His agent, Karabo Tshabuse of P-Management Sport, has now provided clarity. Tshabuse discusses Saleng’s absence from training, addressing accusations from certain groups that her agency advised the player to stay away. She also comments on the links to Al Ahly.
“I think we caught hands because of what the media did,” she told the Behind the Boot Podcast. “If we rewind to when there were issues in the media, it was around Saleng not being on the pitch. And there was this whole ‘where is Saleng?’”
It later emerged via the Pirates documentary Giants that the 27-year-old player was not okay. “We see Monnapule Saleng saying ‘I’m not okay’ on that Giants show. That is already an answer in itself that it was a season where mental fitness was not matching physical fitness.
“What I like is that from the Giants show or the Pirates show, Saleng is live, saying I am not okay, and granted, people are only getting it after the speculation about where he is, and does he really want to be there.”
DID P-MANAGEMENT ADVISE SALENG TO STOP TRAINING?
While there were occasions when the player missed training sessions, he did appear in December 2024 for the CAF Champions League match against Al Ahly. Tshabuse stated that at no point did the agency advise the player against training.
“Does it make sense for someone who looks after the interests of a player to tell him to stay away when he’s got a binding contract? If you want to take him overseas, it’s based on the stats and the data; his last game is his best data,” she explained, adding that the player was given time off to focus on himself.
In the heat of things, the agency released a vague statement essentially stating that this was an employer-employee matter. Tshabuse, as she now explains, believed that “the story will tell itself.”
She reveals that at that point, there was a storm brewing within Saleng and “he needed just the space to recover.” “He needed the audience to just hold the line for him, and unfortunately, as much as social media can be powerful to build, it can be powerful to exacerbate and break a situation. So, we find ourselves now having to explain a season where people were just ruthless. I then decided I’m not going to comment because I can’t say my client needs the mental fitness to be where his physical fitness is.”
NO CONTRACTUAL ISSUE BETWEEN SALENG AND PIRATES
Speculation was that the issue between the two parties was contractual, as the player was unhappy with his contract.
“There was no contractual issue with Saleng and Orlando Pirates. Orlando Pirates and Saleng brokered a very good deal, and a deal that helped Saleng achieve a multitude of things, including buying property.
“Orlando Pirates can never be faulted on that score. It can also not be faulted for what the player went through. So, the Al Ahly deal is nothing further than the truth. At that stage, Monnapule Saleng was not looking to leave. He was at Orlando Pirates, invested in the team, but just going through something,” she explained.
Interestingly, she revealed that “this guy has a tattoo of Orlando Pirates on his calf.” “He has an Orlando Pirates badge tattoo on his potris. For him, he arrived at his dream when he played for Orlando Pirates.”
Tshabuse also explained the reasons behind taking the former Moroka Swallows winger on loan to Orbit College FC, highlighting why it was a sensible decision. “It takes us to why Orbit, it was to recover the player. To recover his confidence, his mind space, you are who you are. As much as people threw us under the bus about Orbit, it’s actually the perfect place because the one who discovered him, who nurtured him, is the one who is in the PSL.”
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