Bernard Parker breaks silence on his falling out with top agent Mike Makaab and Kaizer Chiefs

Former Kaizer Chiefs forward Bernard Parker has narrated how his relationship with top agent Mike Makaab broke down after leaving Chiefs.

Parker left Amakhosi in 2022 after spending just over a decade with the Soweto giants.

That was followed by a three-week trial stint at SuperSport United under Gavin Hunt, but no move materialised. 

The former Bafana Bafana striker claims his agent tossed him back and forth as he struggled to sign for Matsatsantsa.

That saw him ending his 16-year relationship with Makaab, and he secured a move to TS Galaxy on his own without any representation.

"I reiterated to the chairman my willingness to give back to the club in whichever way, and I was told that I would get a call in a month. The call didn't come," Parker told Smash Sports.

"In the following months, I pushed again, and then they eventually said that I must go see coach Molefi Ntseki and it was the same story. 

"I went to SuperSport and nothing came up there. I went to him, he took note and said we will see, and that's where it ended. 

"I've been with him for 16 years at that point, so I just wanted him to talk to me straight. I was told the club was struggling and not able to afford me, to which I responded by saying, I don't want money, I just want to play, and nobody mentioned anything about personal terms," he added.

"Coach Gavin wanted me and was pushing for me to join the club because he said you took me to the CAF Champions League semi-final as Chiefs captain and I know how to deal with younger players. I went to Mike Makaab and told him, 'I heard you put in an offer, can you tell me what's going on?'"

Parker looks back at how his move from FC Twente to Chiefs happened when he felt he still had a lot to offer in Europe.
He believes his agent and Amakhosi put their business interests at the expense of his club career in Europe, as he was signed to replace Knowledge Musona, who was leaving for Bundesliga side Hoffenheim.
"Later on, I realised why I was pushed to come back to play for Kaizer Chiefs, it was a business decision, because Knowledge Musona and I were represented by the same agent, and he wanted to get a move to Europe," Parker said.  
"After all the success at the club, I realised later on that it was a business decision... release Musona and we'll give you Parker."

Parker is now an assistant coach at TS Galaxy as he pushes to establish himself as one of the bright minds in South African football.

He is still learning the ropes amid expectations that he will be a head coach of a top-flight league team in the near future.