The season (2008/09) when Phumelele 'Ace' Bhengu broke through at Moroka Swallows and famously scored a brace against Kaizer Chiefs, he had missed an opportunity that would have guaranteed him almost four times what The Birds were paying him.
Bhengu was a teenage striker who had come through the ranks at Swallows and could have earned R30 000 instead of R8 000 for his first senior contract in 2008.
READ | Chiefs provide update on new signing Gonzalez ahead of AmaZulu clash
It is a story that has never been told about Bhengu who went on to also play for Bay United, Mpumalanga Black Aces, Chippa United, Thanda Royal Zulu, SuperSport United, Royal Eagles, Real Kings, Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila, and Bizana Pondo Chiefs.
Bhengu spoke to KickOff.com.
"A close friend tells me that I played football but was unfortunate not get money and be stable in my life considering that I was a disciplined player," says Bhengu.
"I would have done effective things with that money, but this was all out of my control.
"Money is something that I never got because I became a hit at Swallows, I was earning R8000 which was going into my father's account and not mine because that is where even my R3000 used to be paid.
"You know what about this money matter…I played at the Bayhill Cup as a 17-year-old against Mark Mayambela then Bloemfontein Celtic wanted to give me R30 000 after I impressed them.
"I had never heard of R30 000 in my life, but the deal fell through due to a catalogue of issues that led to a call from Leon Prins who told me to sign for R8000.
"From that contract that I signed at Swallows after being told they had already spoken to my father money just eluded me.
"After I top scored in the NFD while at Thanda [22 league goals], Chiefs spoke about giving me R150 000, but the talk was that if Stuart Baxter is not happy then I would be loaned to Golden Arrows and get R80 000.
"I just wanted to know whether they wanted me or not regardless of who the coach was.
"That deal fell through, and I ended up at SuperSport United.
"The offer that I had wanted was from Sundowns because coach Pitso (Mosimane) believed in me, but the deal didn't go through.
"My contract with Thanda was up but they wanted me to renew so that Sundowns can then buy me from them but if fell through.
"Then came the deal to Portuguese club Maritimo which was facilitated by some rich Portuguese who owned a butchery in Cape Town.
"This guy arranged and paid everything for me to go to Portugal and when I got there, I impressed, and they wanted to sign me but my South African spoiled it for.
"My greedy agent wanted to get more money than the guy who had paid my flights and arranged for me to go to Portugal.
"After messing that deal, my agent now wanted me to sign for AmaTUKS so that I'm close to him.
"I was disappointed because that meant the offer went up like that.
"My career turned out the way it did because of agents, I never had the luck of having an agent that would work to benefit while I'm delivering on the field," details Bhengu.
You must be Sign In to read and post comments.
Click HERE to register!