In the latest edition of Negotiating Behind The Scenes, KickOff talks to former Black Leopards leading striker Coxwell Ratshivhadelo, who tells us about how smart he had to be in order to negotiate his exit from the club.
Ratshivhadelo, who continues to work as a correctional officer, reveals how he had to be economical with the truth when dealing with Lidoda Duvha boss David Thidiela in an effort to leave the club to join Bidvest Wits.
Who I signed for
"I signed from Dynamos, who had just gotten relegated. Because I was working in Venda and new owner Pat Malabela was relocating the team to Giyani, I had to stay behind in Venda.
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"Dynamos promised me a car I could use to travel to work, but I couldn't take that offer because it could have strained me driving long distances to work and training.
"After that, I decided to go and train with Black Leopards, that's when Gavin Hunt arrived. Unfortunately by then, David Thidiela didn't want to sign me, saying I was from a team that had been relegated.
"But Gavin stood his ground and told him, 'No, I want this player'. There was another issue as Dynamos refused to give me my clearance, and David Thidiela had to intervene. My clearance was then released. That was in the 2000/01 season. That's the season Black Leopards were promoted to the PSL."
How did you find out?
"From Wanani Mulaudzi, he was the captain of Black Leopards before me. We are colleagues in the Department of Correctional Services. He is the one who convinced Gavin Hunt to sign me.
"We even decided to dodge at work that day, we left work before time just for me to meet Gavin. I was impressed, and Gavin told Thidiela he wanted to sign me."
Where did you meet?
"By then, Black Leopards had no office, Thidiela used to conduct his business in his car.
"You sat in the passenger car and signed your contract. You'd find that within 30 minutes all the players have finished signing [signing], the way it was so quick."
Who was there?
"It was only me and Thidiela. Those days, I didn't even have an agent, as teams were not willing to work with agents.
"Remember with Thidiela, he never negotiated, he just told you, 'I will give you this much'. He just said to me, 'you will be earning R2 500 per month'. I didn't have issues with that because I had a job in the government at the same time. Only after I left football, that's when I realised, 'I have been exploited'.
What surprised you?
"The fact that during my stint at Dynamos when it was owned by the late Peter Rabali in the Second Division, I was earning more than Leopards were offering me."
Did you get what you wanted?
"At Black Leopards, we used to sign for a season. Our contracts would be renewed every season."
Did you see the contract?
"I didn't finish the second season due to interest from many teams. Leopards told the coach, who was Bulgarian, not to play me because there was a possibility I could leave the team.
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"I had to be smart and negotiate with Wits University, but I had to lie and tell the Black Leopards management that I was being transferred to Gauteng by the Department of Correctional Services.
"Otherwise, they wouldn't have released me. To get my clearance, I had to go to the Players Union.
"At Leopards, only those who came from Gauteng earned more - the likes of Thokozani Mnguni - because they had agents."
What you would change?
"The first thing I'd change is the salary. And I should have opted for a straight two-year contract and not this thing of renewing your contract every year. That way, I would have allowed them to pay R2 500 for two years. The excitement of being allowed to go back to the PSL killed me."