Is ex-Sundowns and Pirates star Manyisa worth R2m?

In a surprising turn of events in the Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila and Oupa Manyisa saga, the club might be forced to keep the player in their camp.

READ MORE: TTM stuck with Manyisa as they would have to pay R2m to terminate contract

The former Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder was a marquee signing for the DStv Premiership newcomers, along with former Kaizer Chiefs dynamo Joseph Molangoane, in the 2020/2021 pre-season.

But the excitement was short-lived as the club was forced to terminate their contract shortly after they joined the side, apparently because TTM ran into some financial difficulties early in their top flight existence.

Having been released by the club, Manyisa is reportedly fighting to have TTM honour the legal agreement they had when he signed with them.

Phakaaathi reported that the club will have to pay the midfielder R2 million should they wish to terminate the contract with Manyisa. The club is said to be unable to afford to just lose R2 million.

With the news of a R2 million pay-out for the termination of the player’s contract, is the player really worth six figures?

Manyisa has won the Absa Premiership title five times, twice with Pirates and three times with a Pitso Mosimane-led Sundowns, though his playing time at Sundowns in his last two seasons there was severely limited.

Manyisa has been a brilliant midfielder in the PSL and for Bafana in his time,  but the midfielder is on the wrong side of thirty, which has left a dent in his market value. He made just five appearances for Sundowns in the 2018/19 season and didn’t play at all last season.

If he is fit and TTM can afford him, the 32-year-old could certainly be of value to a side, like TTM, trying to navigate the waters of South Africa’s elite clubs for the first time.

The real problems for TTM is a staggering amount of mis-management off the field, which saw the side ill-prepared for the new campaign and unable to field more than three substitutes for their MTN8 quarterfinal loss to SuperSport United.

More than one player they have claimed to have signed pre-season has not ended up at the club and even players they have signed have ended up in situations like Manyisa’s and Malongoane’s. It is an absolute mess, and TTM, frankly, would be better off honouring the two-year contract they gave to Manyisa, even if it does cost them R2 million.

So the question here is not so much  ‘Is Manyisa worth R2 million’ as it is ‘Can TTM afford not to honour Oupa Manyisa’s R2 million contract?’

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