Leading up to the end of his contract at Kaizer Chiefs, George Lebese was getting deep admiration from Ptiso Mosimane, who was driving the success of Mamelodi Sundowns at the time.
In 2017, Lebese threw a dagger in the heart of Amakhosi team manager Bobby Motaung. By most accounts, players who have gone through the ranks at Chiefs – especially those who were absorbed as football infants and turned into household names in the Premier Soccer League – always have a good story to share about Motaung.
Lebese’s experience of the veteran administrator is no different. But his is without a happy ending.
Lebese joined the Glamour Boys in 2008 as a raw and exciting talent from Emmerdale Arcadia and went on to become one of the club’s key players under coaches like Stuart Baxter, whom he won two league titles with before jumping ship to rivals Sundowns.
At Chloorkop, the now retired left winger was promised heaven on earth. He was told about his potential role in the team, how and where he was going to be utilized by Mosimane – all before he put pen to paper. With the talks of bonuses that go up to R7000 every three games for a win, Lebese was already charmed.
“I was avoiding Bobby the whole week at the village. When I see him coming this way I go the other way because there was already a story about Sundowns talking to me.
“My agent gave me every reason to leave Chiefs. It was my decision, but he pushed it because he wanted me, and they had good bonuses and it made sense,” Lebese said on the The Apex Playbook podcast.
“I asked Bobby to improve my salary, I did not want much because what I know at Chiefs is that when you come from development, they improve it a little bit, they don’t really put big numbers.
“Bobby gave me a decent offer – it was actually good. I remember the day everyone had already left and they called me to the office,” Lebese added.
"I had already decided that I was not signing. They put down the contract, without even looking at the contract, I looked down and said I'm not signing. I could not even look at Bobby in his eyes because I can imagine the disappointment because he raised me and the effort that he took [to groom me]."
All of the promises made to Lebese at Sundowns never saw the light of day. Lebese was used as a sporadic player in his first few weeks, then was told to shed some weight and was put under a strenuous training program.
In the midst of all that, Mosimane brought in a host of players who were selected ahead of Lebese. He was not only sidelined on match day, and that’s when he realised that the grass was not so green on the other side.
“11 v 11, I was not playing, I’d be on the bench at training and now it started to hit me that I left there, I could have built a legacy and could have been the next Doctor Khumalo who stayed for so long… now you left for this, look what’s happening.
“I tried to stay focused and fight for my place until I couldn’t anymore – I was exhausted and there’s a point where I stayed at home for two months without going to training.
“No one called me, no one bothered where I was. My salary was full and I was at home. It messes up with your mind because you want to play. I stayed home until the transfer window opened and then I spoke to my agent and told my agent I need to go play.
“That time I am apologizing to Bobby. Remember I broke his heart… and he did not want to hear anything. I tried to call him and said don’t worry, I forgave you but that door is closed,” Lebese explained.
"I wanted to go back to Chiefs because I was still fresh. But I had already burnt the bridge. When the transfer window opened, I decided to leave everything including the signing on fee. We had to get signing on fees after the transfer market closed because you can't get the signing on fee then go. I said they could keep the signing on fee, it was close to a million. I was fed up and I did it for my emotional well-being."
After a short stint with Major League Soccer outfit Colorado Springs in 2020 and an unsuccessful trial at the now defunct Moroka Swallows and Marumo Gallants – Lebese went into premature retirement and relocated to Nelspruit and now focuses on his clothing label.
However, he still feels the ache of the wound he left behind at Naturena, and hopes to burry the hatchet one day.
“I tied to mend it (relationship with Motaung) after and I still apologized after. He greets me here and there but you still see that he did not like what I did and which is understandable because Bobby is a genuine guy… he’s an honest guy.
“For me he was like a father figure. There was a point where I had no transport – he literally called his wife [to assist]… that’s the relationship we had, now imagine that player coming to you and say he will not renew the contract.
“We are still fine, I saw him the other day in Nelspruit when they were playing against TS Galaxy, I greeted him but with Bobby, you must know when to approach him. I think my from my perspective, we are sharp. I apologized, it was nothing personal towards him or the club.
“It was a decision I had to take, it was just for personal growth – I wanted to grow and you can never grow in the comfort zone.
“I was really comfortable at Chiefs and I had to go and test myself. Two things can happen when you do that – things can go well or not and it did not go well. Okay, sharp, we learn, it is life.
