Aime Kitenge might have never played for the top-paying clubs since his arrival in South Africa from Burundi in 1995 but was to direct his earnings towards sustaining himself past his playing days.
Kitenge played for Jomo Cosmos, then went to St. Patricks in Ireland, before he returned to play for Mother City, Avendale Atletico, Ria Stars, Dynamos, Maritzburg United and Thanda Royal Zulu.
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After he retired, he worked as a goalkeeper coach at Thanda and was most recently with Jomo Cosmos.
"From my side, I did prepare a bit for life after football because I always knew that this is a career that will come to an end," says Kitenge.
"I have a diploma in engineering, specializing in industrial welding, which I got before my professional career because my dad never wanted me to play football.
"While I was playing, I managed to buy some machines, which I sent back home to set up an operation.
"I had two rental properties in Pietermaritzburg but sold one and still have the one with 13 rooms.
"Those rooms give me income every month, so it helps in my line of survival.
"I also have interests on some cars that operate on the road and give something as well, so that is how it is for me.
"I have never been for the limelight and never chased branded clothes, expensive cars and flashy lifestyles that comes with living life on social media.
"The luck that I had was that my dad was a soccer player, so I learnt a lot from him.
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"So, I'm in a position where I can do welding and have 13 rooms available for rental.
"Do you know that even when I was playing at Maritzburg, where we had guys from Gauteng coming with expensive clothing brands, I never went that route?
"We had big names who used to wear expensive clothes every day to training, but I never believed in that.
"Then one day, Farook Kadodia (Maritzburg United chairman) was even complaining about guys coming to training wearing these expensive clothes, yet the team was losing," Kitenge adds.