Renowned football agent Mike Makaab has given a response to the claims made by his former long-time client, Bernard Parker who cited frustration over two key career moments.
The relationship between Parker and Makaab began well before the former Bafana Bafana star’s move to Europe in 2009.
In an interview on Behind the Boot with Mazola Molefe, Parker recently claimed that his move back to Kaizer Chiefs was a “business decision” tied to facilitating Knowledge Musona’s move to Europe.
Parker claimed that Makaab persuaded him to return to South Africa while he felt he could have continued abroad. He stated that he only found out about that later during his stint at Amakhosi.
According to Makaab, after FC Twente released Parker, he presented the striker to several clubs in Europe. He maintains that none of the overseas offers came close to matching the financial package from Chiefs, which was more than double the amount presented by the European teams.
Makaab added that he never facilitated a Musona deal to Europe which was done by Rob Moore instead.
“We had signed a contract with Chiefs prior to Bernard leaving for Europe on the basis that if Bernard didn’t move to Europe, he would have played for Chiefs. He moved to Europe, so the contract became null and void,” Makaab told Simtho Dladla on Gagasi FM.
“So it was logical to offer Bernard back to Kaizer Chiefs when he came back. We tried to market him in Europe, there were no takers. Unfortunately, what Chiefs offered was more than twice the best offer we could get from Europe.
“Let me also tell you, we worked extremely hard to secure Bernard’s free clearance from FC Twente. They paid something like €1,5 million for him. And they, because of our relationship with the club, they released him, Chiefs signed him.
“Bernard said it was a business decision, based on what the agent wanted, because we wanted Musona to go into Europe. Then let’s clear the air. We never did the knowledge Masona deal to Europe. It was done by Rob Moore, he did the club to club. I stepped in after the deal was done.”
Parker also voiced his disappointment over the failed move to SuperSport United after leaving Chiefs, claiming that agent Makaab did not act decisively enough to finalise the potential deal.
Makaab says while Gavin Hunt—who was spearheading SuperSport at the time—was interested in signing the player, the deal ultimately collapsed due to issues with the club’s management.
“Gavin wanted to sign Bernard [at SuperSport], but there were problems with management. It was a difference in opinion. It never happened,” Makaab added.
“We, in the interim, had spoken to every single club in South Africa, including Tim Sukazi at TS Galaxy. But if I tell you that Bernard was one of the highest paid players in South Africa.
“It was our job to try and get him a deal that, yes, obviously he wasn’t going to get what he was being paid at Chiefs, but at least was in line with what we believed Bernard Parker’s value was.
“He got frustrated, there’s no doubt about it, and he did the deal by himself with Tim Sukazi. He said I was infuriated, not true. Not true, I was disappointed after we had been together for 16 years.”
