Thabo Matlaba of Orlando Pirates (Frikkie Kapp/BackpagePix)
According to the club, Matlaba refused a pay cut to stay at the club, but the defender refused the offer after having met with club chairperson Irvin Khoza twice.
“On Tuesday 18th June 2019, Thabo Matlaba met with the chairman Dr Khoza to discuss his future at the Club,” read a statement on the Pirates website.
“Dr Khoza confirmed to Thabo that his contract of employment was expiring at the end of June 2019 and asked Thabo to please come back to Dr Khoza on Thursday with a proposal of his package for a new contract.
“On Thursday 20th June 2019, Thabo Matlaba met with Dr Khoza as agreed. At this meeting (which was also attended by the financial manager), Thabo explained his personal situation and advised that he is not able to reduce from the current package that he is on.”
Matlaba is one of the latest players to leave the club, and as reported by this website a couple of weeks ago, the defender was not happy with a lack of game time at the club, particularly last season, where he spent most of the time bench and the stands.
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