In this edition of Negotiating Behind The Scenes, former winger Koketso Mmotong shares a story of how Kaizer Chiefs lost him to Mamelodi Sundowns in 2008.
Who did you sign for?
"I signed for Mamelodi Sundowns in 2008, they bought me from Platinum Stars. My contract was left with a one and a half year, so they decided to cash in on me."
How much did Sundowns pay for your services?
"[Laughs] I have no idea. Remember, here in South Africa, those types of things are never disclosed."
How did you find out?
"I think I first read in Soccer Laduma or KickOff that Sundowns and Chiefs were interested. But I didn't pay much attention to it, I thought it was just another football rumour.
"I only started to believe it when my then agent Tim Sukazi confirmed. He was always in our training sessions when the move was about to happen."
Where did you meet?
"At Bowmans law firm in Sandton. I think Patrice Motsepe owned some percentage of it.
"I remember I had about three offers, and one of them was from Kaizer Chiefs, but the problem with Chiefs is they wanted me to wait at Platinum until my contract was finished so they could sign me as a free agent.
"And for me, that was a bit unfair, because Larry Brookstone was good to me. I couldn't just leave without him getting compensated for what he had contributed to me. And on the other side, Chiefs wanted me to wait until my contract was left with six months."
Who was there?
"Two gentlemen who were representing Sundowns, I think one of them was the Sundowns lawyer. The thing is, my agent had finished everything in terms of contract negotiations, all I did was to sign on the dotted line."
What surprised you?
"The signing on fee. I was even more surprised when I was told it was going to be in my bank account in three days. Where I was from, I'd wait for a year for an R30 000 signing-on fee [laughs]."
Did you get what you wanted?
"Yes, I did. I don't think I was robbed."
Did you see out the contract?
"Yes because I had signed for three years plus one year option. I stayed all of it, even though I had loan stints in between."
What you would change?
"Nothing. Everything was just as expected. My life changed a lot after joining Sundowns."