Orlando Pirates midfield sensation Mpho Padime has spoken out on his special relationship with Bafana Bafana star Relebohile Mofokeng.
Padime recently gained promotion to the Pirates senior team, and he’s tipped as the direct replacement for Mofokeng, who left the club in the off-season for a big move to Belgian side Royale Union Saint-Gilloise.
Mofokeng left Pirates for a European adventure following his impressive performances in the previous campaign that helped the Buccaneers clinch the Betway Premiership for the first time since 2014.
The 21-year-old attacker was a mainstay in Pirates’ team under Abdeslam Ouaddou after racking up 11 goals and nine assists in 36 appearances across all competitions.
As a result, Mofokeng won major accolades at the 2026 PSL awards after walking away with Footballer of the Season, Player’s Player of the Season and Young Player of the Season awards.
Following Mofokeng’s exit, Padime gained promotion to the first team to fill the big shoes left by the Vaal-born playmaker.
The SA youth international was promoted to the Pirates first team after starring in the club’s DStv Diski Challenge side with 10 goals, helping the Sea Robbers win their first-ever DDC title.
WHAT PADIME SAID ABOUT HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH MOFOKENG
Padime has opened up about his relationship with Rele Mofokeng, revealing that the former Bucs attacker often offers him advice during their conversations.
“As we all know, Rele is a good person, and he’s someone who always gives me advice whenever we’re talking,” Padime said.
“He always guides me because he’s older than me. So I want to see myself where he is, as I said, we speak, and he’s more like a brother to me.”
Meanwhile, Relebohile also had an interview with SuperSport TV where he predicted that Padime could go on and surpass what he has achieved at Pirates.
“He called me the day he signed his first-team contract and told me he was going to wear number 38. I asked him what the big deal was with number 38, and he said he felt they should have retired it,” Mofokeng told SuperSport.
“I asked him why they would retire it—it’s not like I did anything extraordinary. I had a good career at Pirates, but he can even surpass it, so why retire the jersey? He told me I did a lot of things, but I said with his talent, he can do even better. He has so much talent—even more than mine—but his mentality has to switch. He must work to get goals and assists, and everything will fall into place. He is going to be a top talent.”
RELATED STORY: How Pirates edged rivals Chiefs in ‘Phopho’ Padime’s signature
