TS Galaxy boss Tim Sukazi has confirmed that captain Given Msimango and goalkeeper Melusi Buthelezi will be leaving the club, but insisted he doesn’t want to take the shine from their new clubs.
Msimango was one of just two players to have played every single league minute in the DStv Premiership this past season, with former Kaizer Chiefs defender Daniel Cardoso being the other at Sekhukhune United.
The 26-year-old, who joined the club when Sukazi bought the premier division status of Highlands Park in 2020, has signed for Kaizer Chiefs and is already doing jersey shoots with his new club for this coming season.
Meanwhile, Buthelezi, who made his Bafana debut in a friendly match against Sierra Leone last year, will be joining Pirates to add further competition to the Soweto giants squad ahead of 2023/24, which will see them compete for five trophies, including the CAF Champions League.
While these deals are widely reported, they are to be officially announced, but Sukazi insisted he doesn’t want to take the limelight away from their new clubs.
“Msimango, his club will announce him,” he told iDiski Times.
“I could come out and say ‘we reached an agreement to a transfer with Kaizer Chiefs’… And with Buthelezi, it is the same thing. His new club will announce him accordingly.
“But these players won’t be returning to TS Galaxy next season. But I would like to leave the shine to their clubs, as opposed to us making announcements on behalf of their next destination.”
Meanwhile, Bosnia-Herzegovina defender Igor Makitan is another player who will exit the club, having not played a single match last season.
The 28-year-old joined Galaxy ahead of the 2021/22 season from FK Krupa in Bosnia, along with goalkeeper Vasilije Kolak, and initially made 13 appearances in his first campaign.
“He’s likely to leave,” added Sukazi.
“We have sort of arrived a long time ago and he is not in our fold as we speak.”
Unlike Makitan, Kolak featured in 11 matches in all competitions for the club in 2022/23 and he looks set to be the replacement of Buthelezi in goal.
Veteran striker Bernard Parker, having arrived at the start of last season following his release with Chiefs, still has one more year left to run in his contract with the club.