The secret to a spike in Iqraam Rayners' goal rate for Stellenbosch FC could have been revealed after coach Pitso Mosimane revealed how he was within an hour from signing him for Saudi side Abha Club.
Rayners had the best season of his career in front of goal in the DStv Premiership after scoring 15 goals, one shy of at least finishing as a joint-top leading goal-scorer with Orlando Pirates striker Tshegofatso Mabasa.
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The 28-year-old's form from midway through the season saw him being linked with moves to big teams in Gauteng, such as Mamelodi Sundowns, and also with overseas clubs.
He came close to booking a seat in Bafana Bafana's plane to Ivory Coast for the AFCON after he was named among the three standby players.
However, Rayners eventually got his chance in a Bafana shirt in the FIFA Series of international friendlies against Andorra and Algeria in March, where he scored against the Desert Foxes in a six-goal thriller.
Just after netting against Zimbabwe in a 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier on Tuesday, Mosimane revealed that he came close to signing the sharpshooter for his former club Abha in January, only for the deal to fall through in the last hour.
"He nearly got a chance to play in Saudi, this year, the deal didn't go through at the end," Mosimane revealed on Metro FM Sports.
"It was almost done, it collapsed in the last hour, not day, hour! Stellenbosch said yes. I don't want to disclose the figures, but it didn't work out. It's not that Stellenbosch didn't want, [the deal] was going to change his life, Rayners was going to pay school fees for the rest of his family and the next generation and he would buy a nice house in Cape Town and see the water."
Mosimane went on to explain that the deal did not materialise because Stellies felt they didn't have time to find a replacement.
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"I think... and fair enough, we need to be honest and fair on Stellenbosch, I think they felt they did not have enough time to replace him because the transfer [window] was closing. If there was time, they would use the financials to buy another player.
"It's sad, but he's a good player, he has a chance [of moving abroad]."
Rayners was named Stellenbosch's Footballer of the Season at their awards ceremony last month.
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