Bafana Bafana midfielder Teko Modise has revealed that two failed moves to Greece was behind he reason to quit Orlando Pirates.

Modise, now 33, left Pirates in 2011 in a surprise move to rivals Mamelodi Sundowns. At the time, the reason behind Modise’s move was surrounded in controversy which the chief rumour including a dispute between the player and then coach Ruud Krol.

Modise has now moved to explain the real reason behind his switch to the Chloorkop, reports Goal.com.

‘Within a year of playing for Pirates, I was supposed to go to Greece but the move didn’t happen because at the time they [Pirates] thought Greece was not a footballing country and there needed to be better countries to come and acquire my services,’ Modise told Arthur Mafokatehe on his show Date With Arthur.

‘The General’ divulged further that with just a year left on his Pirates deal, Panathinaikos returned with a second offer.

‘I didn’t have a problem [with renewing my contract with Pirates] because Orlando Pirates gave me the platform,” he continued.

‘I think what made it worse was that the guys from Greece came back for the second time.’

Panathinaikos took the extraordinary step of including their coveted player on all messages between the Greek and South African club, allowing Modise to analyse the numbers for himself.

‘When they sent e-mails to the club they would CC me, so I could see the numbers and already your mind is somewhere else hoping you are going to leave, especially at that time I was at the peak of my career so I was hoping “OK, sharp, let’s do this”,’Modise said.

The player has since gone on to win a string of titles with Sundowns including most recently, the PSL, the Telkom Knockout and the Caf Champions League.

Photo: Ryan Wilkisky/BackpagePix