Bafana Bafana and Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder Andile Jali reveals his family was the main reason he came back to South Africa. 

The Bafana Bafana international joined Sundowns after parting ways with KV Oostende, having scored two goals from 124 appearances in all competitions during his four-year stint at the Belgian outfit.

Sundowns fended off competition from Soweto giants Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates to capture his signature on a five-year deal.

The 28-year-old, who has been labelled arrogant and self-centred by the media, says he avoids doing interviews after being misquoted while admitting that his main reason for his PSL return was his family.

‘You know sometimes, people tend to turn around what you said and they interpret it the wrong way to sell their papers. It’s not right,’ Jali told IOL.

‘I have seen a lot of people doing that in the media. They create stories about players and then supporters attack the players, but the supporters don’t know the real story, they don’t know what happens behind closed doors.

‘How can you say that I am arrogant when you don’t know me? So, I don’t care about what people from the outside think about me. I only care about what my family thinks about me and the people who are helping me to grow.’

He added: ‘The hardest part about my time in Belgium was staying alone, busy calling my family on the phone every time. It’s great being back home because I go to my kids after training. I see my kids and I play with them. It’s great to be able to be a physically present dad and do things with them.

‘There are too many things that have changed about me as a player because when I went to Belgium, I was still young at the time. I am now better at assessing the situation. The coach can give instructions, but there are some moments where you have to make a decision in a split second. I am a smarter player now.’

The former Orlando Pirates midfielder says he is looking forward to winning silverware with a team that ‘wants to win everything’.

‘I came to a team with ambition, a team that wants to win everything they participate in because I also want to win everything,’ Jali concluded.