Former Kaizer Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns forward Thuso Phala has dismissed reports that he is retiring from football after parting ways with Black Leopards.

The 33-year-old arrived at Lidoda Duvha at the start of the 2019-20 campaign as a free agent after leaving SuperSport United last year.

Phala struggled for game time at Leopards and only managed to feature 13 times in total before asking the club to terminate his contract last week.

The Gauteng-born forward has reiterated that he will not be retiring from football and will continue to play beyond the current season.

‘I don’t know who interviewed my mom instead of me. I don’t know about that [retiring],’ Phala told Sowetan Live.

‘I’m not retiring, man. A man must make a plan going forward, that’s why I need to start planning now, moving forward.

‘I arranged with Leopards since I was not going to be there next season and seeing that this coronavirus is prolonging, we decided in good terms that we end our relationship now.

‘The pandemic played a part in me leaving Leopards, now we are closed because of it. It was just for me to get a clearance and start planning going forward and it was only the right thing to do, I think.

‘I’m still going to play next season. My manager is handling everything at the moment. We will sit down when this lockdown is finished and see if the league is going to finish, now it’s very difficult because we don’t know what’s happening in our football.’