Orlando Pirates legend Benedict “Tso” Vilakazi and his Kaizer Chiefs counterpart Junior Khanye have weighed in on whether Relebohile Mofokeng has something on them when they were his age.
Mofokeng, who is 20, is enjoying a great season for club and country as he is leading Pirates as they challenge on multiple fronts and also steered Bafana Bafana to victory last Friday.
The Pirates forward has netted 10 goals and made 12 assists in 36 games across all competitions for Jose Riveiro’s side, who are in the PSL title race, CAF Champions League quarter-final and Nedbank Cup semis.
He was the toast for Bafana Bafana on Friday when he scored the opening goal and made the second for Jayden Adams as Hugo Broos’ men won 2-0 at home to Lesotho in a 2026 World Cup qualifier.
However, when asked whether he was better than Mofokeng at the same age, Vilakazi was emphatic in his response.
Tso claims he was ‘far better’ than Rele at 20
“Far better than him,” Vilakazi, Pirates leading scorer, told iDiski TV.
“I was captain of the U20, captain of the U23. I was far better than him, in terms of play, leading a team like Orlando Pirates, being the captain for Orlando Pirates, and representing Bafana Bafana.
“He is not far from me; he has been doing well at his age, and also he is playing for the national team, he is not far.”
Meanwhile, Khanye, a former Chiefs winger, who started out at 17 had a different view.
“I will be honest, I think it’s unfair to compare me with the boy, the generations are not the same, we were competing against the best players,” Khanye told iDiski TV.
What did Junior Khanye say?
“You knew that at Sundowns, there were Surprise Moriri, Sipho Nunes, Siaka Tiena, Manqoba Ngwenya, and the list goes on at Pirates, there was Tso Vilakazi and Gift Leremi.
“So, the boy is competing with who in South Africa except for Lucas Ribeiro? That is why I am saying it’s unfair.
“I will give the boy… I will be honest… I love the boy – He is far better than me if you look at where he is.”
The two former players’ sentiments will likely divide opinion among fans but Mofokeng will be focused on leading his club and country to glory.
Rele is currently with the Bafana Bafana squad in Abidjan, Ivory Coast where they will face Benin in a World Cup qualifier on Tuesday and he is likely to start his second match for the national team after his Man of the Match performance against Lesotho.
