Zamalek president Mortada Mansour has revealed that he could have brought head coach Pitso Mosimane to Zamalek but chose not to out of respect for Al Ahly.

The South African mentor joined the Red Eagles in 2020 in a shock move from Mamelodi Sundowns, transferring his winning mentality to Egypt after leading Ahly to two back-to-back Caf Champions League titles.

In his short time at Ahly, Mosimane has won a total of seven trophies, including two Caf Champions League titles, two Caf Super Cup trophies, two Egyptian Premier League titles, one Egyptian Cup and the Egyptian league Cup as well as two consecutive bronze medals in the Fifa Club World Cup.

In a statement on the AlHadath TV channel, Mansour revealed that he had the opportunity to snatch Mosimane away from Ahly when his contract expired but opted not to out of respect for Al Ahly fans.

“If I wanted to bring Mosimane to Zamalek I could have done it, but I will not do that out of respect for Al Ahly fans,” Mortada said.

“A number of Al Ahly players wanted to join Zamalek but I refused, and when I signed Abdallah El-Said, his contract with Al Ahly was about to expire.”