It was between Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates - Jayiya on why he left Cape Town City

Former Maritzburg United winger Bhongolwethu Jayiya has revealed that he had to choose between Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates.

The 30-year-old ended up moving to Chiefs ahead of the 2017/18 season after he failed to extend his contract at Cape Town City where he had established himself as one of the top wingers in the PSL.

“The move to Chiefs had a lot of things and complications. I wanted to stay at Cape Town City. We had negotiations with the [City] boss John Comitis and we didn’t agree on the packages and everything… I just had to move," Jayiya told Far Post.

“It [was] not about the money, it was about a package that was suitable for me and my family because I had a young daughter at the time, newborn and because I am a family orientated person. I wanted to go back to Johannesburg, I wanted to be around my family.

“I met up with my agent, I needed to make a big club move in my career. I have played for all the small teams. I remember we inquired with Mamelodi Sundowns, Chiefs and Orlando Pirates. Sundowns had many players in my position, so it was between Chiefs and Pirates."

The former Bidvest Wits player, who helped City clinch the 2016 Telkom Knockout Cup, disclosed that he did not enjoy his time with Amakhosi as he was inconsistent.

"I sat down with my mom. My mom is a Chiefs supporter, she said to me, ‘my child whatever you choose is fine but for me, it would be nice to see you play at Chiefs’," he added.

“My last year at Chiefs, in fact, [during] my time at Chiefs I was not enjoying my football. I was not consistent, I always had bad games. Right now, if I could get a team, I know I got the right mentality to carry on and keep growing, it is life."

“I went to a team that comes with big pressure. When I joined Chiefs, there was a lot of pressure, they hadn’t won a trophy for about three to four years and you are a new player coming in and there are players who are playing well, but haven’t been able to bring in trophies."

Jayiya struggled with injuries during his two-year spell with the Soweto giants and he felt sometimes he was thrown into the deep end when he was not ready to play.

“So, as a new player to come in and start playing was going to be hard. So, I thought I would get a chance and my mind at that time when I wasn’t playing was mainly focused on my family. I told myself, things are not happening right now I can’t force things, let me just focus on what I can control which is my family," he said.

“You would find that sometimes, they would throw you into the deep end when you were not even thinking of playing and you were not ready and that just messes up your opportunity at Chiefs, but at the end of the day you need to be ready at all times."

“I wasn’t focused on grabbing the opportunity because I had been sidelined for so long. If I had the same mentality I had when I was at City, it was going to be a different story. I have no grudges, it is life, it happens, you just have to take it on the chin and move on."

Jayiya made 20 appearances across all competitions for Chiefs without scoring a single goal and he is currently a free agent having left Amakhosi in May 2019.