Orlando Pirates deny Saleng Gulf link reports and ‘baseless rumours’

Orlando Pirates have denied reports the club received an offer from Gulf club Al Nasr for winger Monnapule Saleng, who has been notably absent from their line-up for weeks.

Agent Ruis Frois was quoted in a report saying the offer from the UAE Pro League club would have netted Saleng earnings of R13m in his first year.

Pirates also denied a report of a European club making an approach for playmaker Patrick Maswanganyi.

Saleng, 26, has five goals in 13 appearances in 2024-2025 but has played only three of Bucs’ 11 Betway Premiership matches. The forward disappeared from action from late last year, only making a brief cameo in a 1-0 league win against Richards Bay in November and playing 90 minutes in Pirates’ 1-1 Champions League draw against Al Ahly at Orlando Stadium in December.

“As Orlando Pirates, we have noted with concern a growing trend of misinformation circulating on social media and in certain media outlets regarding alleged offers for some of our players,” Bucs said.

“Ordinarily, the club refrains from engaging with baseless rumours aimed at creating unnecessary sensationalism and clickbait. However, the persistence and escalation of these unsubstantiated claims now compel us to set the record straight.

“The misinformation began with a fabricated story regarding Saleng, alleging the club had denied the player a lucrative transfer opportunity to a team in the Middle East. Initially we chose to disregard this as another false narrative meant to explain the player’s temporary absence from the playing squad.

“Orlando Pirates FC categorically denies ever receiving any offer from a Middle Eastern club for the services of Saleng.”

Bucs said a report on a popular football news website claimed Frois “met a ‘high-ranking’ Pirates official to discuss Saleng’s availability”.

“No official from Orlando Pirates has spoken to Frois regarding this matter.”

Pirates denied any approach for Maswanganyi from a Portuguese club and “rejects this as sheer gossip. No such offer has been presented to the club”.

“It is deeply troubling that these baseless stories are not only misleading but also serve to disrupt the focus of our players and destabilise the team.”

Pirates were scheduled to play Royal AM in their Betway Premiership fixture at the Harry Gwala Stadium on Thursday night but Royal’s fixtures have been suspended by the Premier Soccer League (PSL) over concerns about their ability to honour matches.

Royal are meeting the PSL executive on Friday regarding the issues at the club, which has been placed in curatorship by the South African Revenue Service because of a R40m outstanding tax debt owed by owner Shauwn Mkhize.