Orlando Pirates have finally announced a big decision on the club’s captain future after the parties were locked in talks for quite some time.
After a 16-year stay with Ezimnyama Ngenkani, Happy Jele leaves the club he served from the early stages of his career.
“Our central defender and Club Captain, who has reached the end of his contract, will be leaving the club. This marks the end of Happy Jele’s momentous career with us,” Pirates statement said.
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“Orlando Pirates Football Club can confirm that Happy Jele met with the Chairman of the Club at the end of the 2021/22 season to discuss his future. During these deliberations, which spanned a three-week period, the Club discussed various job options available to the long-term serving defender in a non-playing capacity.”
Subsequent to this meeting, the 35-year-old was afforded time to go home and think about it.
“Ordinarily, players are released at the end of the players’ contract but in Happy’s case, as he has a special place in the Club, having served the Club so professionally over the past 16 years, the Chairman had specifically asked the player for his input,” the statement added.
“A follow-up meeting was held two weeks later where Happy expressed his intensions to continue playing football beyond the 2021/2022 season, an option that unfortunately is not available.”
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Happy arrived from the amateur club Walter Stars in 2006 as a lanky and unassuming 19 year old. In those 16 years, he won 8 trophies, made over 400 appearances and scored 18 goals.