A statement from the Ezenkosi management during the week debunked Mphela’s statement, describing it as negative, insolent and in bad taste.

“I am very surprised and disappointed by Katlego’s utterances. This is a boy I knew and respected as one of the most talented players to emerge from the junior cadre of Jomo Cosmos,” said Cosmos Team Manager Kwezi Masondo.

“It’s difficult to believe he actually made those sick statements to Soccer Laduma. How could he insinuate that Jomo did not organize his overseas trip? I am utterly disappointed by that statement because he was there when Jomo was signing his contract and also when he was signing for the junior team of Strasbourg.

“So I wonder what he’s trying to prove by saying he doesn’t know who arranged his transfer to Strasbourg.

“I even called his manager today, and he said it was abnormal for Mphela to make such utterances,” Masondo continued.

“Secondly, he was totally out of line when he said he never spoke to Jomo when he had problems at Strasbourg and that we were not there for him.

“That’s a bundle of lies because that wasn’t the case. This is a boy who trained with us, we paid him salaries, we offered him free accommodation in Jeppestown and took him as our son.

“We also bought him furniture for that flat, and today there’s no trace of those things we provided for him. We would like to use this opportunity to appeal to him to return our furniture. We learnt his father came and took the furniture away, so we are asking him to please return the club’s property.

Taking Mphela on about his other negative statements on Cosmos, Masondo added: “And I don’t think it’s reasonable for him to suggest that Cosmos are struggling at the moment. That’s quite unfortunate coming from a player whom we developed. He’s where he is today because of Jomo Cosmos.

“In life you don’t burn bridges because you don’t know what tomorrow holds for you,” Masondo concluded.

For the records, Katlego Mphela went through the Jomo Cosmos youth structures before being discovered by French scouts in 2003 while playing for the club in an international youth tournament in France.

That earned him a move to RC Strasbourg in the French Ligue 1 in a deal brokered by Cosmos owner and coach, the legendary Jomo Sono.

Mphela recently joined Supersport United in the South African Premier League on loan from Strasbourg.

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