“What do you live with if you are not skilled in anything but football?” was one of the recent quotes from the former Masandawana coach
Mamelodi Sundowns co-coach Rhulani Mokwena has asked his former head coach Pitso Mosimane to refrain from talking about Gaston Sirino.
Mosimane moved to Egyptian giants Al Ahly last year and helped the club win the Caf Champions League as well as the domestic league and cup.
Sundowns forward Gaston Sirino meanwhile made no secret of his desire to join Mosimane in Cairo in a saga that dragged on for several months before the Pretoria club issued a statement saying they have terminated discussions with Al Ahly over the potential sale of the Uruguay-born forward.
However, subsequent to that statement and just last week, Mosimane again commented on the subject while in discussion with South African soccer journalists and alluded to the fact that Sirino could have benefited financially by moving to Egypt.
Among several comments he made on the matter, Mosimane said:
“Now [Sirino] is 29, going to 30, and I understand how he reacted, to say ‘I have a chance to make a bit more for myself, this might be my last contract’.
“Players, coaches and agents have a lot to learn. Sometimes we lose out on opportunities, especially players, we will say ‘this guy is bankrupt, he doesn’t have any money.’ There are many more years to live after football. Gaston was crying for this chance, I know that for sure.”
Mokwena, who was Mosimane’s right-hand man, and has now hit back at his former colleague and asked him to be more respectful of players from other clubs.
“The Gaston Sirino chapter must be closed. Even coach Pitso (Mosimane) must close the chapter because Sirino is a Mamelodi Sundowns player,” Mokwena told Power FM listeners, as reported by the Daily Sun.
“He signed a four-year contract. He said to us that he is happy to stay and has committed himself to the club.
“Just like we don’t speak about players from other teams, I think it is a little bit unethical to continue to have this talk about Gaston. The club has issued a statement on Sirino.”
Mokwena also added that “Gaston is fully committed to Sundowns.”
Sirino has played for 213 minutes in the league this season for the Brazilians, spread over five games, as well as one match in the MTN8.
