Former Bafana Bafana head coach Pitso Mosimane has revealed that he was close to securing the services of Stellenbosch striker Iqraam Rayners during his spell in Saudi Arabia.
Mosimane was in charge of Abha Club at the time, where he was tasked with saving the club from being relegated from the Saudi Professional League. ‘Jingles’ reckoned that Rayners would be the right man to help his course.
“Rayners nearly got a chance to play in Saudi this year. The deal did not go through at the end, it was almost done but it collapsed in the last hour,” Mosimane said in an interview on Metro FM.
“It is not that Stellenbosch did not want. Rayners was going to change his life, he was going to pay school fees for the rest of his family and the next generation,” said Mosimane.
'He would buy a nice house in Cape Town and see the water.'
“Stellenbosch said yes. Whatever they asked, Saudi would pay. If they can sign Cristiano Ronaldo, how can they not buy Rayners? I don’t want to disclose the figures,” Mosimane added.
While Abha were keen on Rayners’ services, Mosimane reveals that the Saudi Arabia side could not be too aggressive in their approach, given the late timing of the deal.
“We need to be honest and fair on Stellenbosch. They felt they didn’t have enough time to replace him because the transfer market was closing. It is not a question of whether they wanted to release him or not.
“They wanted to help the boy but they felt they would not have someone else to replace him with. If there was time, they would use the funds to buy another player.
“It is sad but as long as he is scoring hat-tricks, he will have opportunities. He is a good player,” said Mosimane.
Mosimane, meanwhile, is currently in search of a new managerial opportunity with recent links to the Nigerian national team job.
The Super Eagles parted ways with coach Finidi George after a string of underwhelming results in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
This now opens up the possibility for Nigeria to rekindle their interest in ‘Jingles’ as their Federation and legend Jay Jay Okocha previously reached out on Mosimane.
