Former Orlando Pirates captain Happy Jele has opened up about his future and is open to returning to the Buccaneers.

The veteran defender was released by the Sea Robber in July 2022 after spending 16-years at the club in which he scored 18 goals and assisted a further seven from 388 appearances across all competitions.

Jele was then offered a non-playing role by the Buccaneers but turned it down as he still wanted to continue playing.

He then joined Royal AM in February during the 2022-23 season and went on to make four appearances across all competitions for them.

The 36-year-old is still hoping to continue his playing career in the upcoming season and hopes to return to Pirates when his contract at Thwihli Thwahla expires.

“I think they waited for me because what I remember, when we had talks, I said I wanted to go and play and the club gave me that blessing to say, ‘go and finish and once you feel you are okay, you can come’…the door is still open,” said Jele as per Sowetan Live.

“So when I retire, I think I will go there and talk to them and see what’s going to happen. We can’t predict the future. If the job is no longer there, it’s fine, I need to go somewhere else and work but for now the ball is still in our court, me and the team [Pirates].

“For now, I am still taking care of myself and I can still run with the young guys. God will lead me to say ‘now it’s time to retire, my boy’. I am still a Royal AM player and I won’t reveal for how long.

“They want to compete with bigger teams…they want to win trophies for themselves, so for me it is just to be there and try my best to help the team.”

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