Outspoken FCSB owner Gigi Becali says former Kaizer Chiefs defender Siyabonga Ngezana was likened to Argentinian legend Diago Maradona as a key signing for the club.
Ngezana, 26, joined FCSB in July for a fee of €600,000 from Chiefs. The 26-year-old recently won his first league title and helped FCSB to end a nine-year league drought.
The Romanian giants will compete in the UEFA Champions League first round playoffs next season and see if they can make it to the group stage.
FCSB nearly lost Ngezana in January when FC Lorient came knocking, but Becali is said to have turned down a €5 million off and wanted €7 million.
Becali, who is actively involved in all the technical decisions at the club, including team changes, transfers and establishing the “first XI”, admitted to Digi Sport that he never watched Ngezana before signing him but he was told “he is Maradona”.
Instead Ngezana was followed by head coach Elias Charalambous and his assistant coach Mihai Pintilii as well as Sporting Director Mihai Stoica.
“I am the scouting process. I’ll take it, you’re no good, go home! I also give you money,” Becali told Digi Sport.
“I didn’t see Ngezana, but MM [Stoica], he watched with Pintilii and Charalambous. He [Stoica] told me that ‘it’s Maradona’. He’s a good footballer.”
Ngezana made 31 appearances for the Romanian giants across all competitions, with his side keeping a clean sheet in 15 of them.
