Former South African footballer Mark Fish has revealed that he came close to joining Kaizer Chiefs, while disclosing his first salary at Jomo Cosmos after he inked a deal with them in 1992.
The retired defender donned the famous Ezenkosi shirt for one year before he left for Orlando Pirates, Chiefs’ arch rivals.
Fish says Chiefs wanted him to join them so he can partner with Lucas Radebe in defence.
“When we got relegated, in the following season, we found ourselves [with other teammates from Cosmos] at Pirates,” he said in the Podcast and Chill with MacG.
“When I was on my way to see Jomo Sono, the old PRO from Kaizer Chiefs saw me and we started chatting.
“He said the Chiefs fans had been writing him messages saying they would like to see me and Lucas [Radebe] playing together before Lucas went to Leeds [United].
“When I told Jomo, he said, ‘if you sign for Kaizer Chiefs, I’ll make sure you never play football again in this country. Anyway, I found myself at Pirates.”
Other clubs the 48-year-old played for are Lazio, Bolton Wanderers, Charlton Atletic, Ipswich.
FISH REVEALS HIS FIRST SALARY AT COSMOS
Fish went on, for him, playing at a professional stage wasn’t about getting remuneration initially, thus, he never thought his salary was small.
‘The Big Fish’, as he was affectionately known during his playing time, revealed that his first cheque was R800 and further insisted that he was content with it.
“The first time I got the cheque, it was R800,” Fish revealed.
“It was good because, you were getting paid but it wasn’t about money at first.
“It was just about exposure and ‘I want to play football.
“At the time, you could do a lot of things with R800 because you could even rent a place.
“The following year, I was earning R1600 and that was a big time.”
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