Kaizer Chiefs legend Itumeleng Khune is not delighted with the way players who are over 30 are treated by clubs.
The 37-year-old wanted to play until he hit 40 years or more, but the Glamour Boys were not keen on granting him his wish. They wanted to give him an ambassadorial role, something that the former Bafana international was not ready to take.
Despite indicating that he would consider playing for a rival team, the former custodian has since ventured into other businesses.
Khune has now stated he agreed to take home a pay cut just to continue at the Soweto Giants, insisting he was not ready to play for any other team having featured for Amakhosi since his junior days.
‘It wasn't about money… I didn't see myself playing for any other team'
“Unfortunately, it's becoming a trend that at a certain age and obviously with the bracket that you find yourself in when it comes to the payments, obviously clubs are looking into that nowadays and the older you are, the less money you must get. Obviously, those are the kinds of decisions that you also have to make at some point,” Khune told the media.
“With my situation, for years I've been reading and hearing that, ow, Itu has agreed to take 50%. So, for me it wasn't all about money anymore, it was about playing football and making people happy like I've been doing hence I've taken those salary cuts, I asked the club.
“It's not about the money anymore, it's about the love of the game but there was nothing I could have done because the club gave me the respect and said, ‘You can go wherever you wanna go if you wanna continue playing.’
“I didn't see myself representing any other team in South Africa apart from Kaizer Chiefs which I've played for, for my entire career. So, I didn't see myself wearing another jersey,” he concluded.
