Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has criticised the agent of Mbekezeli Mbokazi, accusing her of prioritising money and making poor decisions in facilitating his move to Chicago Fire.
Orlando Pirates sold Mbokazi to the MLS club for a fee believed to be around R51 million, with the young defender set to join the team in January next year.
The situation escalated when Mbokazi angered Broos after missing his flight from Durban to Johannesburg as Bafana Bafana began their preparations for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, which will take place in Morocco from 21 December to 18 January 2026.
With Bafana Bafana having already qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the USA, Canada, and Mexico, Broos believes Mbokazi’s agent, Basia Michael, rushed the transfer for financial gain. He also questioned whether MLS is the right destination for the powerful defender.
Broos said Michael should have waited, given the upcoming AFCON and World Cup, which he feels could have attracted interest from bigger clubs after those major tournaments.
“I will tell you what I think — no,” said Broos.
“What is he going to do in Chicago? It’s not even a top team in America. And if my information is correct — I don’t know, don’t quote me — but they told me he will play in MLS Next Pro, the second team of Chicago Fire. I don’t know if it’s true, but that’s what I heard. I’ll ask him when I see him.
“If that is true, it’s even worse. I know what happened. A nice woman who is his agent thinks she knows football and is doing what many agents do: ‘How much can I get?’
“If she is a little bit clever, she knows there is an AFCON coming, she knows there is a World Cup next year, and that there would be better teams for his career than Chicago.
“What is he going to do alone in a big city like that? So no, I don’t think it is a good choice.”
Bafana Bafana have assembled at the High-Performance Centre in Pretoria, where they will continue their AFCON preparations until 17 December before departing for Morocco.
Before leaving, they will face Ghana’s CHAN squad at Dobsonville Stadium on Tuesday, before turning their focus to their AFCON opener against Angola on 22 December in Marrakech.
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