Happy Jele drops bombshell: I’ve never met new Orlando Pirates coach

Former Orlando Pirates captain Happy Jele has dropped a huge bombshell that he has never met newly-appointed coach Jose Riveiro.

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Jele parted ways with Pirates on Monday after rejecting the club’s proposal to retire and take up a non-playing role within the structures.

The 35-year-old turned down the non-playing offer on the basis that he still wants to play football for two more seasons in the topflight.

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Jele, who had spent 16 years at Pirates whom he joined in 2006 from Walter Stars, told Robert Marawa on Marawa Sports Worldwide that he has never met Riveiro.

And that’s because when his contract expired on 30 June, Jele had a series of meetings with Dr Irvin Khoza over his future, and that meant he couldn’t report for training.

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Now, the biggest question is, who made the call that Jele’s services were no longer needed at Pirates going forward?

HAPPY JELE NEVER MET NEW ORLANDO PIRATES COACH JOSE RIVEIRO

“I have never met with the new coach,” said Jele. “When my contract finished, that’s when we started with our talks; me and the chairman.”

“So, it’s almost like three or four weeks if I’m not mistaken. So, I have never met the new coach [because] I was busy with talks with the chairman.

“Maybe he knows my (video) clips but we’ve never met, not even once. None.”

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