Former Orlando Pirates captain Lucky Lekgwathi has explained his views on why nowadays players do not stay longer at a single club.
Lekgwathi feels players are playing for money instead of representing the badge of the club.
The 45-year-old former player, has spent most of his time with Orlando Pirates, having played more than 300 games before calling it a day to his illustrious football career.
Lekgwathi was speaking to iDiski Times writer Lethabo Kganyago after the current Orlando Pirates captain Happy Jele, became the first Orlando Pirates player to make 400 appearances for the club, after their league encounter against Swallows FC on Saturday.
“It is not common because you know today players they are after money. If you remember back then players used to play for a badge, but now players are after money,” Lekgwathi told iDiski Times .
“If you want to play them obviously they will move on another team, and if you check most players want to play for Sundowns because they say it is a team that can play more than anyone.”
“So that’s why now people don’t have loyalty because of money. This is why sometimes we have to learn from our bosses that you mustn’t be after money, you must be after loyalty, so that even after playing a certain team you can still go play elsewhere.
“But it is 50/50, sometimes it pays, sometimes it doesn’t pay. I think it is nice to stick to one team, because if you can check most players retire at a young age because they don’t want to be loyal to their teams.
“If you look at players that have left Orlando Pirates and went to Sundowns or left Kaizer Chiefs and went to Sundowns, where are they today? I don’t want to mention names, they are too many. So it teaches us something, but players are players, they won’t change, and they are there to make money to support their families.”
You can read the full interview with Lekgwathi in the latest edition of iDiski Times – out now!
