Al Ahly star Percy Tau has expressed being sad at Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos’ claim that he is not in a good space mentally, saying it’s just rumours.
Tau missed out on Broos’ 23-man squad for the upcoming 2025 African Cup of Nations Qualifiers double-header against Uganda and South Sudan this month, with Broos citing mental health issues behind his decision to drop the pacey winger.
The 2023/24 Egyptian league campaign treble-winner felt hard done by the Belgian mentor’s decision to omit him from the squad, but Tau equally expressed his respect for the coach after they talked it out.
“I don’t believe that,” Tau told Andile Ncube on Sports Night Amplified when quizzed about his mental health.
“I don’t agree to that. I mean I’ve also said it to him, ‘Coach, I appreciate your reason [for] not selecting me’. And I don’t want to say the reasons behind it because you cannot look from the outside and tell me I’m not fine, when I tell you coach I’m fine.
“These are just rumours. How can they affect? I’ve said it, these are just rumours and then I’m used to it.
“This is not the first time actually it happened with me. I’ve always had it with [Al] Ahly.
“It’s either from injuries to… One time I was in South Africa and I was told, ‘Ahly and Percy parted ways’, I’m like, ‘Where does this come from?’
“So, I’ve always had these rumours with me. I don’t know what’s the intention though. And then to make a decision [been snubbed] based on the rumours, it did not sit well with me.
“And I expressed that with the coach. He respects me. I respect him. We’ve got a good relationship as one of his senior players.
“But then, I’ve said it to him. I just don’t agree with the reasoning behind it.
“If you drop me, and say you’ll come the next game based on your performances, I’ll take that any day because I always want to fight for my country,” Tau said.
Tau also admitted that being snubbed for the latest squad was a hard pill to swallow.
“Yeah it did,” he added.
“And the reasoning worse. Because I was like, ‘I’m fine mentally. It can’t be because of the report that I get’. No, the report that I get is normal for me, I’m used to this – are not true.
“But anyway Mdala [old man] also has got his own mind and how he believes the things, and then at the end of the day, he’s the coach and I respect him.
“He’s leading mty country and I know the boys will make us proud. And I’ll be back in the squad soon,” he further said.
