Chiefs’ coach hurt by Maluleka’s departure, here’s what he said…

Kaizer Chiefs head coach Ernst Middendorp has admitted that the departure of star midfielder George Maluleka was as painful however defended that his new destination made it necessary.

Read: Chiefs star suspended for Wits clash

Maluleka, 31, was released by the Soweto giants upon the expiry of his contract at the end of June after the club opted against retaining him for the remainder of the 2019/20 season.

Maluleka happy to get started with Sundowns
Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder George Maluleka during training with his new club.
(Image: @Masandawana/Twitter)

The lethal midfielder has since joined his new club Mamelodi Sundowns in training, although he cannot take part in any Absa Premiership title race until the beginning of the 2020/21 season.

The German coach has since explained that had it been any team that Maluleka signed with then the club could have retained him until they conclude the season, however, because it is their rivals in the title race they decided to let him go.

“We discussed it inside the club, even the player himself was involved with the management, and we came to the conclusion that it’s a delicate situation,” Middendorp told the club’s media as quoted by KickOff.Com.

“If the new club would have been, let’s say, SuperSport [United] or another team that’s not really competitive with Kaizer Chiefs for the championship this season, I would say it would probably be a different story.

“But, knowing that the new club is Mamelodi Sundowns, it was very clear that we had to make a decision [to let him go]. I think this decision is on one side painful, because he was absolutely one of our core players since the beginning of the season in building the team, but we have options inside.

“I’m quite confident that we will get it right, pairing up the centre of the midfield with Willard Katsande as a first choice, and let’s see. We haven’t decided in the end, there are two or three options in the squad, and we will make the decision latest on Wednesday.”