Former Bafana Bafana and Jomo Cosmos player Augustine Makalakalane has levelled allegations that club owner Dr. Jomo Sono “robbed” his players during their transfers to overseas clubs.
Makalakalane, who turned out for Ezenkosi in the 1980s, disclosed that he experienced failed attempts to secure an overseas transfer while he was at Cosmos.
A major opportunity was lost when he and Thomas Madigage visited Glasgow Rangers, who wanted to sign them. Makalakalane claims the deals ultimately failed because club owner Sono priced them out, seeking excessive fees.
Makalakalane decided to cut out Sono during another overseas opportunity at Swiss outfit FC Zürich, personally handling the arrangements to ensure the deal wouldn’t collapse again.
He further alleged that Sono pocketed all the transfer money, including the players’ signing-on fees, whenever a sale to an overseas club was finalised.
“My motivation to go overseas was because I was not paid, Jomo Sono never paid me,” Makalakalane told Thabiso Mosioa on Radio 2000.
“So, I never played for money, I played for the love of football, for fun. They were coaching us to win rather than coaching us to play.
“So, I wanted to explore, improve my talent. I also went to Glasgow Rangers, we couldn’t make it, me and Thomas Madigage because Jomo was on the forefront, he wanted more money.
“Those people didn’t want to give him the money, they wanted to give us the money. They always thought my neighbours are elephants and baboons and all that. That’s how they knew Africa.
“When I came back, I finished my college. Then I said if Jomo is gonna take me to overseas and that club wants to sign me, I’m gonna stay there and make my own contract. I made it when I went to Zurich.
“I knew Jomo was going to fail me, Jomo has failed many of us – Chippa Masinga, Helman Mkhalele, Mark Fish and all of them – even though he is our hero. All the players that Jomo sold, he took all the money and tell you go look for your own signing-on fee at that club.
“The club will tell you, ‘No we gave that guy €5 million or whatever and he must give you 35% of your signing-on fee’. But we didn’t know that story. Me, I learnt through doing things myself at Zurich.
“And since then, me and Jomo have never spoken since then because of that.”