Kaizer Chiefs had just won the league the previous season and were about begin a new era under Steve Komphela.
One of the new signings to help with that at Chiefs was Enocent Mkhabela, who joined on a free transfer.
Having impressed at SuperSport United, Mkhabela did not renew his contract, ending up at greener pastures. But speaking to KickOff.com he reveals negotiations got off on a tricky foot between him and Chiefs.
Mkhabela recalls Chiefs move
“The day I signed for Chiefs I was so excited, I was like a kid who was excited for his first day at school [laughs]. It was during the 2015/16 season. I joined Chiefs from SuperSport United. SuperSport wanted me to stay, but what happened is I signed a pre-contract with Chiefs. SuperSport were slow in our negotiations in my last six months. I remember I was at SuperSport and preparing for a Nedbank Cup Nnal when my then agent, Tim Sukazi, informed me that Bobby Motaung was interested in me. He told me to go to Chiefs to sign a pre-contract. Later on in the evening, ‘Bobsteak’ called me on my phone, but I didn’t believe it was him. I thought it was someone pretending to be him. I thought it was one of the scammers who was pretending to be Bobby.” Recalls Mkhabela.
Not believing it was really Motaung, he called the Chiefs manager a scammer!
Called Bobby a scammer!
“So, my response to him was, ‘Hey you chancer, don’t take chances with me! You think I don’t know that you are a scam? I’ve heard about people like you who go around scamming unsuspecting soccer players, so please don’t pretend to be someone you are not.’ I said all that not knowing I was actually speaking to Bobby [laughs]. The next day, Tim Sukazi said to me, ‘Hey man, Bobby (Motaung) says he called you and you told him things that didn’t make sense.’ I was shocked, the thing is I never imagined Bobby phoning someone like me directly [laughs]. From there, I met Bobby, and a deal was signed in Johannesburg.” Said Mkhabela.
Mkhabela signed a five-year deal at Chiefs but only stayed for one season. He never made an appearance for the club and was loaned out the next season.