Kaizer Chiefs coach Steve Komphela admits that the departure of winger George Lebese to Mamelodi Sundowns was a bitter pill to swallow after he spent close to a decade with the Soweto giants.

The 28-year-old came on as a second half substitute to make his debut in Masandawana’s 1-0 loss against Maritzburg United on Sunday afternoon, and the former Maritzburg United mentor says losing Lebese to Sundowns was a massive blow.

‘It wasn’t easy losing a player of Lebese’s calibre,’ he told KickOff.

‘The kid grew up at Chiefs and spent nine years and it’s not easy, he was part of the family.

‘The club said we wish him well and, like in football business, it’s going to happen. You can see worldwide, Liverpool is fighting to keep [Philippe] Coutinho and he’s going to go [to Barcelona] and that is the business of football.

‘But it is a pity we lost him, he’s one of the greatest players we’ve ever had at Chiefs,’ he concluded.

Chiefs open their Absa Premiership campaign with an away encounter against Bloemfontein Celtic on Sunday, with kick-off scheduled for 15:00.

Photo: Samuel Shivambu/Backpagepix