Rulani Mokwena has laid bare the financial problems he encountered during his short stay at Moroccan club Wydad Athletic Club.
Mokwena left Wydad in May, 10 months into a three-year contract, after a fallout with some members of the club’s board with a section of fans also not convinced with him and he has insisted he was pushed out not because of performance but rather club politics.
However, what annoyed him is that his loyalty was questioned by the club’s vice president despite his best efforts to work under very difficult circumstances that saw him go eight months without pay and he also had to use his own money to sort out some players and coaching staff.
“I had no issues with pressure, with phycological breakdown and all these things. I was prepared to step down because there was a lot of talk,” Mokwena said on Marawa Sports Worldwide.
Mokwena reveals how he bailed out players & staff
“I remember one day I said to the president, I cannot take it when I invest so much, I work so hard to bring so many of the players, almost all of them for free,” he added, explaining how he had to even pay some players and coaching staff since the club had been cash-strapped when he arrived.
“I have to sometimes from my own pocket pay some of the players, pay some of the staff, go and buy training equipment from my own pocket, invest in the club and then I have a vice president of the club asking me ‘do you love this club?’
“I would never subject myself to some of the things that happened and that is why I said to the president, maybe there is a misalignment somewhere and It would be better for me to step down because I could hear, ‘all he wants is to go play Club World Cup with Pep Guardiola and walk out’.”
In a separate interview, Mokwena revealed how he had to withstand the harsh financial conditions at the club and still ensure that the players put in an impressive performance on the pitch.
Did Rulani go eight months without pay?
“You were correct about the salary issue but it was an issue that at that time, it coincided with my agent being in Morocco and the club was in discussions to sort out the issues that were there,” Mokwena told journalist Mazola Molefe.
“It wasn’t necessarily about that [money], when you love something and I love coaching. When I arrived there, in my first meeting with the players I asked how did Raja [Casablanca] do the double and yet when I arrived in Morocco, I was told they underwent the same problems?
“They were prepared to go out and represent the club and the badge and this is something I felt sometimes was missing [from Wydad players] but I had to be the one that shows even in moments when players were disgruntled about payments, I had to show that I am not focused on the money but representing the club.”
The tactician has complained about a number of things that made his stay in Morocco difficult, including the push by some club officials to have a local in charge of Wydad, as well as cultural and language barriers.
