If former Bafana Bafana winger Bryce Moon had his way, Maritzburg United would be under his name right now. Moon exclusively told Sunday World that he had tabled “a good offer” to Maritzburg management before the start of the Motsepe Foundation Championship (MFC) season.
Moon could not reveal the amount, but it is believed to have been around R10-million. The Maritzburg management turned it down as they had been pushing for R12-million. Had the deal been successful, it would have made Moon the first former player to own a
professional club in Premier Soccer League era.
Maritzburg was relegated from the DStv Premiership in July, and it is the last team Moon played for when he retired in 2017. He now runs an interior design business, BDM Décor and Design, in Pietermaritzburg.
“I wanted to buy the club’s status, but the management had other ideas. I tabled them a good offer, but they said they will only accept if I become a partner.
“I made it clear that I want to run the team solo because I have my own vision for the project. They would not budge, and I let it go,” he said.
Moon says that Maritzburg bosses reached out to him after two matches into the season, requesting for talks to resume.
“I said to them, hell no! You guys think you are being smart. You have taken R2-million from the off-season KZN Premier’s Cup and some money from PSL monthly grant now you’re running back to me? I said they must chill because I don’t operate like that.
“My technical team would have been headed by Muhsin Ertugral, whom I worked nicely with at Ajax Cape Town. I also initiated talks with Sérgio Paulo who I played with at PAOK Salonika in Greece,” he added.
Maritzburg chairman Farouk Kadodia admitted to Moon’s approach but said nothing much came of it. “It was only an enquiry and nothing serious,” Kadodia said.
