‘Pirates star Saleng has done damage to football lovers in SA'
27-year-old Saleng hasn't kicked a competitive ball for Pirates since December 2024.
Saleng saga timeline
Regardless of what's going down behind the scenes, Bucs fans haven't taken kindly to what they perceive as poor professionalism from one of their star players.,
Hlengani@20 had this to say on X:
'The Saleng story has done a lot of damage to the South African football lovers. It's not clear up to now who is in the wrong between Pirates and the player. Contract issues are supposed to be handled between the club and the player's agent, transparency and legalities are supposed to be observed. On this subject, it would seem somebody is running away from the truth. That is the reason the whole matter is causing a lot of animosity between the football-loving community. It stings, it is unprofessional, and it is really bad to say the least.'
Saleng produced a dazzling output of 15 goals and 11 assists from 30 appearances across all competitions in 2022-2023 to be crowned PSL Player of the Year. 2023-2024 didn't reach those heights, but class, as they say, is permanent. He was easily the best player in South Africa, by a mile. In October 2022, he bagged a match-winning brace in a 3-0 win against Sundowns in the MTN8 semi-final. There's no doubt that Saleng loves big games.
Saleng started the last campaign well with five goals in 13 outings, including a strike in the MTN8 final, but the second half of 2024-2025 has been a horror show for the player. He hasn't played a single competitive minute since the turn of the year. Ironically, his last minutes in a Pirates jersey came in a Caf Champions League group stage match against Al Ahly in early December, the club that tried to sign him. He was away with the Bafana Bafana CHAN qualifier side for a two-legged battle with Egypt. After starting the first leg, which ended 1-1, Saleng was released from the squad and returned to Pirates. Now, he's in limbo again.
Pirates' most important player is returning The talk of the town. Image: Sydney Mahlangu/BackpagePix
Where will Saleng play his football next season?
Let us know by leaving a comment below or sending a WhatsApp to 060 011 0211. Also, subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
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