Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos has explained why he questions Mbekezeli Mbokazi’s big transfer from Orlando Pirates to Chicago Fire in the Major League Soccer (MLS).
The highly rated defender completed a move to Chicago Fire a few weeks ago, and he’s set to join his new club after the AFCON in Morocco.
Mbokazi played his last match for the Sea Robbers this past weekend when they defeated Marumo Gallants 1-0 in the Carling Knockout Cup final at the New Peter Mokaba Stadium.
The 20-year-old star has been a key figure in Pirates’ defence since gaining promotion to the senior team from the club’s DStv Diski Challenge side in March 2025.
At the start of the current campaign, Mbokazi was appointed as the vice captain at Pirates under the guidance of Abdeslam Ouaddou. The KZN-born centre-back played a crucial role in winning the MTN8 and the Carling Knockout Cup titles this season.
Mbokazi has made 20 appearances across all competitions in the 2025/26 season, scoring one goal and providing one assist. In his impressive rise to prominence, Mbokazi has also been a regular feature in Hugo Broos’ Bafana squad.
WHAT BROOS SAID ABOUT MBOKAZI’S MOVE TO THE MLS
Following Mbokazi’s recent transfer to Chicago Fire, Broos came out guns blazing, claiming the move is not in the talented young defender’s best interests.
“I’ll tell you what I think, no [it’s not a good move], what is he going to do there?” Broos said at the High Performance Centre in Pretoria when asked about Mbokazi.
“It’s not even a cup team in America, if my info is right, he’s going to play in the MLS 2 at the second team of Chicago, I don’t know if it’s true, I’ll ask him when I see him. That’s even worse.
“But I know what happened, that woman who’s his agent [Basia Michaels] and thinks he knows football is doing what many agents are doing. It’s how much they can get. If she’s a little bit clever, she should know that AFCON and World Cup are coming next year, there could have been better teams that he can go to and not Chicago.”
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