I was shocked!
When Khama Billiat surprisingly left Kaizer Chiefs in July, his former agent and friend Michael Ngobeni was as shocked as many. At the time, speculation had been rife that the player had several offers coming his way both locally and overseas, but Ngobeni was concerned that there was seemingly a rejection of a guaranteed offer from the Soweto giants. Several reports
had suggested that he would have needed to accept a change in his package on the new deal, hence the rumours it might have been of his reasons to leave Naturena. Billiat has since surfaced at Yadah Stars FC in his home country. In a unique Siya Special this week, Soccer Laduma goes back to Ngobeni to hear his thoughts, and as always, he didn’t hold back!
Masebe Qina: Mike, welcome back. After so much speculation, Khama Billiat finally settled on Yadah Stars FC in Zimbabwe. What do you think of the move?
Michael Ngobeni: Alright. Firstly, I have to mention that I respect Yadah Stars management and the club’s head coach. To them, this is a good move, and it means they have managed to catch the biggest fish. But we’ve got to look at the other factors because there are two parties here – Khama and Yadah. For Yadah and Zimbabwean football, the fans and the league, this is a good move. Is the move good for Khama? I don’t think things happened the way he wanted. But as you know, in football, strange things happen. We will say for now that it’s good for him as well. If we say this is a bad move for him, which one will we then say was going to be a good move? This is someone who made his own decision and surely, he knew what he was doing when he boarded a plane to Zimbabwe to sign. Khama has been in South Africa for 13 years and playing football, and this is his home in terms of the game. There is nothing sinister about a player going back to his country to further his career. But the question is, did he go there because he was desperate, or was it possibly because it was the only deal he had? Perhaps that’s a topic for another day.
MQ: You don’t sound convinced…
MN: Alight Qina, and you can quote me on this… I love Khama. And please, Soccer Laduma readers should understand that I am not saying this because I’m interested in managing him again, but it’s because of the relationship I’ve always had with the player. I’ve known Khama for years and it was long before I managed him. Maybe to put this clear, I need to tell you and the readers that I’m someone who has always been around soccer players since long time ago and that’s how the idea of becoming an agent came into being. I’ve always been around guys like Siyabonga Sangweni, the late Senzo Meyiwa, Itumeleng Khune, Oupa Manyisa, Takesure Chinyama, (Onyekachi) Okonkwo and so many other players. Since those days, Khama and I have always had an understanding and that’s why when I’m talking about him, I become emotional. I don’t get emotional because I feel I should have done the deal, but it’s because I want the best for him. I know his family, I know Khama’s daughter, his mom and father – I know the people who are close to him. But at least I did say to him, “Khama, if you need something, don’t hesitate to come to me and we will talk.”
MQ: Nice.
MN: As a player’s agent, you need to sit down with your player and discuss. You’ve got to say, “Listen, these are the offers on the table now, what do we do?” At the end of the day, the player has to make a decision. For example, at M Sport Management we don’t make decisions for players, but we do advise players about the advantages and disadvantages of signing, whether with club A or club B. That’s why it is important for an agent to always have options on offers on the table.
MQ: Surprised he didn’t sign in SA?
MN: Maybe to say that I was surprised would be an understatement. I was shocked! This is Khama Billiat we are talking about here. Imagine Teko Modise in his prime and someone come and say he couldn’t find a club for him. You wouldn’t say that. As much as I was shocked, I know why things turned out that way. There are people who like to be associated with footballers for all the wrong reasons. It could be cousins, friends and others who turn out to have a bad influence on soccer players. These are the people who sometimes advise players on things they know nothing about themselves. I can tell you now that he was told not to worry about (Kaizer) Chiefs and that something bigger would come. The person who told him that doesn’t understand how football works.
MQ: Why do you think so? MN: When we talk about football deals, we look at a player and his age, for instance, (as well as) his current value and all those things. Players’ values go up and down, and those are things that need to be carefully looked at before making these decisions. That’s why Khama ended up not getting a club locally because some of those important details were not carefully looked at. That’s why I’m shocked, but that doesn’t mean that I’m not happy for him now that he has signed for a new team in Zimhim babwe. I’m happy for to move there, but telling me that Khama can’t find a club in the PSL… no, there is nothing like that.
MQ: At 33 nogal… MN: (Cuts in) Yes, he will soon be turning 34.
MQ: Some might find it odd though that he’d leave Chiefs on someone’s advice. What could have happened?
MN: I have answers to all your questions. Look, there’s a difference between managing a player and being managed by a player. Currently, the person who is in charge (of Billiat’s football affairs, Godfrey Bamanaged kasa) is being by the player, and at M Sport Management we don’t do that. We draw a line to say ‘no’ when we have to say that. These are big players, my friend, and some people become scared of them. These are the players who drive some of the best cars, living in upmarket suburbs and smelling expensive perfumes. I’m talking about players who have played for their national teams and who are earning more money than you. Look, Cristiano Ronaldo has got more money than Jorge Mendes (his agent), but Mendes has to tell Cristiano what he thinks should happen and, in turn, Cristiano has to listen.
MQ: Talk about a player/agent relationship.
MN: Yes, because a player can tell you that he wants to go to SuperSport United hoping to earn the same salary that he was earning at Chiefs, and you say, “Yes, yes, yes.” If you do that, you are letting the player down by selling him false hope. Tell him the truth if you know the game and how it works. Tell him, “Sir, it’s not going to happen because of one, two, three and four.”
MQ: You reckon that’s why there was no deal for Billiat at SuperSport?
MN: I know Stan Matthews personally and he is a very good gentleman. Also, he’s got a soft spot for Zimbabwean players and that’s why there are always Zimbabwean players there. Currently, there is Onismor (Bhasera), Ronald Pfumbidzai whom I brought to the country, and there is Washington Arubi, and the late George Chigova has also been there. Kaitano Tembo is Zimbabwean and he coached there. I’m just giving you examples because I am talking about a very good CEO who is there. The reason why he (Matthews) stopped (pursuing Billiat deal) is because he probably asked how much he was expecting in salary and said, “Oh, no, sorry!” That’s where my example about
MQ: In all the reports linking Billiat with a move back to Zim, there wasn’t much being said about the agent. How much do you know about his involvement in the Yadah deal? MN: To be honest with you, I am not quite sure. But from what I understand, he was afraid to come out and that’s probably because he didn’t know what to say. What I know about the gentleman is that he is not a football person. Qina and your readers, you need to understand that I am not trying to criticise the guy. I am happy with what I am doing and my business, and I don’t need to poach on someone’s territory to be relevant. I am doing this because I want to state facts so that people can have a clear understanding of what happened. As far as I know, the guy doesn’t really know what to say the media as far as football is concerned. He is the player’s friend and someone who is managing artists, musicians and so on. My friend, if you ask me if I would be interested in managing Cassper Nyovest, I will reject the offer because I won’t know where to start. If Mo Flava calls me to come to his show to answer about anything to do with musicians or anything like that, I won’t do it because I won’t know what to say. How will I know what to do when an artist is being booked for a gig? I won’t! There are mistakes that we don’t make in football.
MQ: Like what, Mike?
MN: You can never reject a deal without (having) another deal that’s available. Phone any agent in the world and ask them what I am talking about, and they will tell you the same. I gave you an example about Jorge Mendes and he is one of the best in the business in the world. He will tell you that he will never do that. Even (Kylian) Mbappe’s father (Wilfried Mbappe) right now, he is still answering calls from Arsenal and Chelsea. Those clubs know that Mbappe is going to be free, and even though the father knows that the player has (reportedly) signed a pre-contract with Real Madrid, he is not ignoring other clubs. He will still say, “Send those offers and let me see.” Let me ask you a question, how do you know the value of a player?
MQ: You’re the expert, you tell us. MN: Let me say I want to sell my house right now, the first thing I will need to do is to drive around the area where I am staying and see if there is another house that is being sold. I will have to call them and pretend to be interested in buying the house and once I get the price at which they are selling theirs, I will start comparing the houses. This one has got pavement and that one doesn’t have it, and things like that, and then I get an understanding of how much I should price mine at. The guy didn’t know Khama’s value, but he knew how much he was earning at Chiefs and he expected him to be on the same salary wherever he intended taking him to. That’s where everything went wrong. So, if he was in charge and knew what he was doing, he would have sat down with his client and said, “Sir, we can’t get one, two, three and four because of this and that. You know you’ve had injuries and didn’t play for this long, your age… and so far, I haven’t been receiving any offers.”
MQ: Kind of makes sense.
MN: Another thing that I was made to believe is that the guy had been waiting for phone calls and wasn’t calling clubs. We don’t do that in football, my friend (giggling). We phone clubs, unless the player is on auction and by that I mean when the player is on top of his game and people are enquiring about him left, right and centre. But when it’s quiet, you don’t wait, you phone and offer the player to clubs. Having said that, for Khama it isn’t about money, I can assure you of that. There are a lot of things you need to consider when you are looking for a club for a player of Khama’s calibre and one of those is happiness.
MQ: Thank you for talking to us openly and this has been such an educational conversation.
MN: You are welcome.