With heavy speculation that José Riveiro will be named as the new coach of Al Ahly soon, it’s also emerged that he may take Monnapule Saleng with him to the Egyptian giants.
As Soccer Laduma reports, the former Orlando Pirates coach Riveiro is close to being confirmed as the Al Ahly mentor sometime this week and Saleng could well follow.
Riveiro was released early from his contract with Pirates, meaning his final game in charge was on Tuesday in their Betway Premiership win over Golden Arrows.
A day later, Mamelodi Sundowns went on to clinch the league title with their victory over Chippa United.
Monnapule Saleng’s Mysterious Absence: Contract Disputes and Possible Move to Al Ahly
One Pirates player that has been shrouded in controversy during the final stages of the season though, is Monnapule Saleng.
Having not featured for Pirates since six months, though apparently being fully fit, his absence has not been explained by the club.
According to unconfirmed reports, Saleng’s absence is due to a wage dispute and it’s also believed that the player had a failed move to Al Ahly in January.
The absence of Saleng had nothing to do with Riveiro’s personal preference, as it was said to be a purely contractual dispute.
Now with Riveiro moving to Al Ahly, it’s certainly not beyond the realm of possibility that Saleng could be on his way to North Africa as well.
Before Riveiro announced his imminent departure at the end of the season, it was reported that getting Saleng back into the team was a top priority for the tactician.
Saleng was last in action for Pirates on December 7 when they hosted Al Ahly in a CAF Champions League match at Orlando Stadium, which ended in a goalless draw.
Saleng, however, was selected for Bafana Bafana in their African Nations Championship (Chan) qualifier in Bloemfontein in early March and, by all accounts, delivered a top performance.
@Michael_Sherman
IOL Sport
