Orlando Pirates have written an emotional send-off piece for their star player Relebohile Mofokeng, who left the club and joined Belgian outfit Royale Union Saint-Gilloise this week.
The Buccaneers thanked the 21-year-old for being patient at the end of last season so that he could work hard and wait for the best move yet. And the move did materialise after an impressive World Cup where he played against the Czech Republic, South Korea and Canada.
Reads the poignant letter from Bucs to Mofokeng: “There are players you watch. And then there are players you feel. From the very first time Relebohile Mofokeng stepped onto a training pitch at Rand Stadium, nobody needed to explain which category he belonged to.
“The senior players already knew. You could see it in the way they paused. The way they turned to each other with that look – the one that needs no words and simply watched. A teenager, fresh from being scouted from the Pirates Cup.
“That is where this story begins. Not in a final. Not in a sold-out Orlando Amstel Arena full of noise. It begins in a quiet training session in 2022, where a boy showed a group of experienced footballers something they had not seen in a very long time. Something that reminded them why they fell in love with this game in the first place.”
He made his senior debut on May 3 2023. He was still a teenager. He looked calm. He played like a man who had rehearsed this moment in his sleep for years – because, in truth, he had. Within weeks, he scored his first goal. Within months, he was indispensable. Within a season, he was one of the most important players at the club. The trajectory was not gradual. It was vertical.
The 2024 Nedbank Cup final
“Ask any Pirates supporter where the moment was, that singular, crystallising, forever moment, and they will not hesitate. He came off the bench. The game was there to be won or lost. The weight of a cup final of a developing rivalry, pressing down on every pair of shoulders in that stadium. And this young man, still smiling, as he always was, received the ball and did what only a certain kind of footballer can do in that moment.
He scored. Orlando Pirates were Nedbank Cup champions. And in one single, suspended heartbeat, Relebohile Mofokeng stopped being a prospect and became a legend.
He did it again the following season in the MTN8 final. Off the bench. Again. A goal. An assist. The difference. It was as though he had written the script himself and simply kept to it.
How Bucs die-hard supporters fell in love with him
What made him extraordinary was not just the skill. It was the intelligence and maturity behind it. He was not a player who dribbled to entertain. He was a player who dribbled to destroy. Every touch had intent. Every movement had purpose.
And through all of it, all the goals, all the finals, all the adulation – the young man never changed. Not once. He was still the boy at the front of the group when the team sang. Still smiling like someone who could not believe his luck, even as the rest of us could not believe ours.
That is what made the Buccaneers’ faithful love him the way they did. Not just as a footballer. As a son. As the kid from the neighbourhood who made it and never forgot where he came from. Rival fans respected him. Rival players acknowledged him. There is a particular kind of player who earns that – who is so purely, transparently good in every sense of the word that even those who are supposed to oppose him cannot help but bow their heads. Relebohile Mofokeng was that player!
And then there is the thing we must not forget. The thing that reveals, more than any goal or assist, exactly who this young man is, and today Orlandopiratesfc.com can reveal the secret.
Relebohile’s message to Bucs boss Irvin Khoza
“Relebohile could have left last year. The interest was there. The door was open. But what did he do? He chose to stay — not for money, not for comfort, but because he wanted to win the league for this club and for its supporters.
In his own words, Mofokeng said: “Chairman, I am not worried about overseas now. I want to give it my all this season and try win this league for the club. This is my only focus right now. If overseas happens after that, then good but for now, let me do all I can to make the supporters happy.”
“He made a promise, quietly, the way honest people do. And he kept it. Europe will take a little while to catch up. A few matches, maybe less. And then the world will know what Mzansi has known since 2022, that Relebohile Mofokeng is something that comes along once in a generation, if you are lucky. If you are very lucky.
“We wish Relebohile nothing but the best in this new chapter of his career but more importantly, thank him for everything,” the statement concludes.
- Orlando Pirates bid an emotional farewell to Relebohile Mofokeng, who transferred to Belgian club Royale Union Saint-Gilloise after an impressive World Cup showing.
- Mofokeng debuted for Pirates in May 2023, quickly becoming a key player with a rapid rise highlighted by crucial goals in the 2024 Nedbank Cup and MTN8 finals.
- The club praised his intelligence, maturity, and purposeful style of play, as well as his humility and deep connection with fans and teammates.
- Mofokeng chose to stay with Pirates last year despite overseas interest, focusing on winning the league for the club and supporters before moving abroad.
- Orlando Pirates expressed gratitude for his contributions and wished him well, emphasizing his rare talent and promising future in European football.
Reads the poignant letter from Bucs to
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He made his senior debut on May 3 2023. He was still a teenager. He looked calm. He played like a man who had rehearsed this moment in his sleep for years – because, in truth, he had.
“Ask any Pirates supporter where the moment was, that singular, crystallising, forever moment, and they will not hesitate. He came off the bench.
He scored.
He did it again the following season in the MTN8 final. Off the bench. Again. A goal. An assist.
What made him extraordinary was not just the skill. It was the intelligence and maturity behind it. He was not a player who dribbled to entertain. He was a player who dribbled to destroy. Every touch had intent. Every movement had purpose.
“Relebohile could have left last year.
In his own words,
said: “Chairman, I am not worried about overseas now. I want to give it my all this season and try win this league for the club. Mofokeng This is my only focus right now. If overseas happens after that, then good but for now, let me do all I can to make the supporters happy.”
“He made a promise, quietly, the way honest people do.
“We wish Relebohile nothing but the best in this new chapter of his career but more importantly, thank him for everything,” the statement concludes.
