George Lebese has thanked Mamelodi Sundowns for helping him realise his family’s dream in representing the club, but admitted his time there did not work out.
Lebese finally sealed his long-awaited exit from the club in the final hours of the transfer window as the club confirmed his release.
The 30-year-old signed for Downs in 2017 from Kaizer Chiefs but failed to make an impact at Chloorkop. In a post on Instagram, Lebese admits that he has no ill feeling towards the club.
‘First of all, I’d like to take this moment to say thank you to everybody at Mamelodi Sundowns, from the President, to the board, to the management, the coach and technical team, and of course my teammates, for the opportunity and experience that was granted to me when I became part of that team,’ he said.
‘Joining Sundowns when I did was something that made my family’s dreams come true in terms of representing my hometown team, and it was a chapter of my career where I learned, grew and acquired immense mental development qualities for myself during the experience. I will forever be grateful and take these improved qualities with me everywhere that I go.
‘The decision to ask management for my clearance to leave the team was not an easy one, but it was one that [was] severely thought through after assessing all of the risks and possible outcomes of doing so. With that in mind, I want to thank Sundowns for the countless meetings that we had in order to get to this final decision of them finally accepting my plea to get my clearance.
‘Now I have to see what opportunities lie ahead of me as far as my football career is concerned, and I am well aware of how difficult it can be for a club to release a player that they have invested in from a business perspective. Sometimes things don’t work out in football, and sadly my time at Chloorkop was just one of those things, I don’t harbour any ill feeling about it.
‘Thank you once more – a special shoutout goes to the Sundowns faithful – and I wish the team nothing but success in this new season as I look forward to seeing what will be the next step for my own career,’ the player concluded.
