By Velile Mnyandu
The long and protracted contract negotiations between African champions Al Ahly and its highly successful coach Pitso Mosimane received some further update today as Mosimane’s agency MT Sports has now set the record straight and put the ball firmly in the Red Devils’ court to finalise.
Mosimane, who is currently at the FIFA Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi with Ahly, and will contest the third and fourth place play-off against Saudi Arabian side and Asian champions Al Hilal on Saturday, has agreed terms on his contract negotiations with Ahly, according to the statement sent by MT Sports.
“The fact is, the terms of the contract have all been agreed upon between the Al Ahly S.C representative and the agent, Ms Moira Tlhagale. The speculation by media and in particular on social media platforms is unfounded,” read the statement.
Mosimane, who joined Ahly in September 2020 and helped them to win the CFA Champions League title back to back, after having failed to achieve that in seven years, had already declared his willingness to continue with the African club of the century. The darling of the close to 70 million Ahly fans, has already been focusing on starting his third CAFCL campaign with the Egyptian giants, aiming for his fourth African championship title, having won the 2016 edition with Mamelodi Sundowns.
“Out of respect for Al Ahly S.C, we will wait for their formal response on the status of the contract. Our Coach is committed to continuing his role as the Head Coach of Al Ahly S.C. We, as MT Sports his management agency, are committed to ensuring that we meet his mandate,” the statement continued.
Following some media reports emanating from Egypt this week, which claimed that Mosimane stands to pocket around R2.5-million a month from his new contract and insinuated that his agent and wife Moira Tlhagale could be behind the delays in finalising the negotiations, the MT Sports statement didn’t mince its words.
“We appeal to the media and the so-called pundits to please refrain from creating unnecessary tensions in the relationship that has been able to deliver ground-breaking results to date,” concluded MT Sports’ statement.
Club legend-turned pundit Ahmed Shobier had been quoted by Egyptian media as saying, the ball is in Mosimane’s court to decide on the latest offer he’s received from the club.
“Al Ahly made Mosimane a good deal, I believe that it’s now up to him. He previously said that he wants to keep the position,” Shobier said on On-Time Sports (h/t) KingFut.
“I think it’s true that Mosimane wants to stay in Al Ahly, but the negotiations are still ongoing between the club and his agent. Al Ahly’s offer is between $160,000 and $165,000 (R2.5 million), with a three-month termination clause.”
Mosimane, who has also been the subject of speculation with some clubs in the Gulf region and national teams in Africa enquiring about his services, would be looking at concluding his contract negotiations so that he could be able to concentrate on his future with Africa’s most successful footballing institution.
Story by Velile Mnyandu (@Velile_Mnyandu).
