Maswanganyi says leaving Orlando Pirates was about peace, not money

Former Orlando Pirates midfielder Patrick “Tito” Maswanganyi says he left the club for Al Khaldiya SC to escape criticism, rebuild his confidence and protect his family’s mental health – rather than earn more money.

The 28-year-old moved to the Bahrain club two months ago in a surprise transfer, having wanted to leave Orlando Pirates during Jose Riveiro’s final season. Maswanganyi said he had been discussing his departure with chairman Irvin Khoza for two seasons.

“I’ve always asked the chairman for me to leave the club because I felt like it was the right moment for me to leave, and we spoke about it for a very long time about me leaving the club,” Maswanganyi said during an interview with the South African Football Journalists Association (Safja) on Monday night.

He said a change of environment was necessary for him to rediscover his confidence and feel comfortable again.

“And I felt that was going to help me in terms of me being myself and also me being able to regain my confidence, because sometimes I would feel really down and I always had to explain to them I wish to play for another team.

“I needed to be in a space where I felt I could be myself again and also, I needed peace, I was looking for peace in which way when I was in SA, I couldn’t have, but I needed peace, that’s why I went there.”

Maswanganyi said the criticism directed at him on social media had also taken a toll on his family. While he accepted negative comments as part of being a footballer, he said his relatives found them particularly difficult to deal with.

“Everyone knows that I was under a lot of pressure, not really pressure but my family was suffering from the comments that I was getting from [social] media. So they would see those kinds of things and they wanted me to quit football. But for me it was something whereby I would understand because I’m a football player, these things happen. But for them it was really tough.”

He added that relocating abroad was intended to shield them from the abuse and improve their mental health.

“I had to make sure that my family is protected from all those things. I just felt like that if I would move far away from the country, things would get better in terms of their [mental] health.”

The former Orlando Pirates player also rejected the suggestion that financial considerations drove the move to Bahrain.

“It wasn’t because of getting [more] money. If I wanted more money from Pirates, I would have gotten more money because I would have asked the chairman [Irvin Khoza]. You know, but it wasn’t even about the money.”

Maswanganyi also said he left on good terms with his former coach, Abdeslam Ouaddou.