Chippa United chairman Siviwe ‘Chippa’ Mpengesi has opened up on the failed move of goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali to Kaizer Chiefs.
Mpengesi confirmed that both Chiefs and AmaZulu had shown interest in the Nigerian goalkeeper.
Usuthu sought to acquire him alongside Bienvenu Eva Nga; however, he remarked that their financial offer for the two players was merely “peanuts.”
Meanwhile, discussions took place between Chiefs and the Chilli Boys over the potential transfer of the Super Eagles goalminder towards the conclusion of the previous season.
Mpengesi says they were willing to sell Nwabali to Chiefs with an amount lesser than what Amakhosi paid for Fiacre Ntwari.
He stressed that helping Nwabali move to a bigger club was their top priority, asserting that it was in his best interests.
Additionally, he expressed surprise at the decision of the Soweto giants to pursue the Rwandan goalkeeper instead.
CHIPPA BOSS MPENGESI OPENS UP ON NWABALI-CHIEFS FAILED TRANSFER
“It was never about the price, there were two teams who were interested, one of them was AmaZulu, but they were offering peanuts,” Mpengesi told KickOff.
“There were talks that we had with Kaizer Chiefs before the end of the season. But then we saw Kaizer Chiefs signing another goalkeeper.
“For Kaizer Chiefs, we were even gonna give them, and the price was not even that high. We were more looking at the interest of the player you know, he was going to play for a big club.
“Because I mean AmaZulu and Chippa are almost the same WhatsApp group, and you still get peanuts.
“So we weighed options, and we thought him leaving Chippa for AmaZulu wouldn't be in his best interest, so he would rather stay with Chippa if Kaizer Chiefs is no longer there.
“But the deal that we were looking for was at Kaizer Chiefs, the reported price of R40 million. That's nonsense. That thing was never there. That's a lie.
“I am told they paid R8 million for the other goalkeeper, but I can guarantee we would have charged them less.
“But of course, in their judgment, the Galaxy keeper is better than our keeper, which is something where I'm sitting, I dispute. But that's water under the bridge.
“But it has nothing to do with value, any offer we would have taken into consideration, but I mean what AmaZulu were offering was peanuts; they wanted us to give them Nwabali and Eva Nga for peanuts. That was a disrespect.”
