Maswanganyi Reveals the Real Reason He Left Pirates
Patrick “Tito” Maswanganyi has finally explained why he walked away from Orlando Pirates in August, and it was not about football.
The fan favourite, whose name echoed around Orlando Amstel Arena whenever he had the ball, left for Al-Khaldiya in Bahrain just after Pirates had lost Relebohile Mofokeng and Sipho Mbule. Fans were left asking why he would go when the team needed him most.
Speaking to the South African Football Journalists Association (SAFJA) on Monday night, Maswanganyi said the move was his own idea.
“I’ve always asked the chairman for me to leave the club because I felt like it was the right moment for me to leave, and we spoke about it for a very long time,” he said.
He said he needed a new start to regain his confidence.
“I felt that was going to help me in terms of me being myself and also me being able to regain my confidence, because sometimes I would feel really down and I always had to explain to them I wish to play for another team.
“I needed to be in a space where I felt I could be myself again and also I needed peace, I was looking for peace in which way when I was in South Africa I couldn’t have, but for me I needed peace, that’s why I went there.”
The biggest factor, he said, was what the social media abuse did to his family.
“Everyone knows that I was under a lot of pressure, not really pressure but my family was suffering from the comments that I was getting from social media.
“So they would see those kind of things and they wanted me to quit football. But for me it was something I would understand because I’m a football player, these things happen. But for them it was really tough,” he explained.
Moving far away, he said, was a way to protect them.
“I had to make sure that my family is protected from all those things,” he added. “I just felt like that if I would move far away from the country things would get better in terms of their mental health. And also myself to be in a space whereby I stopped thinking a lot.”
He added that he was always wondering whether he was good or bad, and that his family’s wellbeing came first. “I make decisions that help me and also my family to feel good and I also feel good.”
