De Sa: Maswanganyi’s Bahrain move is ‘life-changing’
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Patrick Maswanganyi. Photo: Gallo Images/Daniel Hlongwane
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De Sa: Maswanganyi’s Bahrain move is ‘life-changing’
Aug 25, 2026 – 03:14 pm
By Thato Bosoga
Former Orlando Pirates head coach Roger de Sa has discussed the life-changing opportunity in front of Patrick Maswanganyi, after the club reached an agreement with Bahrain Premier League side Alkhaldiya Sports Club for his transfer.
Maswanganyi’s transfer to Alkhaldiya was confirmed by Pirates on Monday, after the 28-year-old’s absence from The Buccaneers’ MTN8 semi-final first-leg clash against Sekhukhune United became the major talking point of the weekend. However, head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou was careful not to divulge too much about the Bafana Bafana midfielder’s no-show.
Regardless of what was happening behind the scenes at The Ghosts, the former PSL Players’ Player of the Season is set to negotiate lucrative personal terms with the Bahraini side that could change his life exponentially, judging from the strength of the country’s currency.
One Bahraini Dinar is worth approximately R42,62 (South African rand) as of Tuesday.
KickOff spoke to De Sa on how massively this currency jump could change the life of the Tembisa-born midfielder.
In conversation with this publication, De Sa acknowledged that while the opportunity may be a life-changing one, he cautioned not to forget how expensive the cost of living is on the other side.
“The type of money you can make in those countries…hopefully he invests it well and looks after himself,” De Sa said.
“Hopefully he doesn’t get taken in by some shocker agents, who take most of this money away; hopefully he looks after himself.”
De Sa, who has worked for Middle East countries such as Iran and Qatar, continued and suggested that he would not be against a South African player, even in his mid-20s, taking such an opportunity, as football is a short career.
“Look, it’s a short career, so the guy, obviously, he’s got to enjoy himself but also prepare for his future. If he retires at 35 and has a life expectancy of at least 75, he’s got another 40 years to look after himself,” the former Egypt assistant coach said.
“So, he’s got to make the most of it,” De Sa added.