Brian Baloyi blames both Kaizer Chiefs & Itumeleng Khune over club exit: 'Retirement could have been handled better'

Legendary goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune has been playing for Soweto Giants Kaizer Chiefs for the last 25 years.

His last contract with the Glamour Boys expired at the end of the 2023/24 season and the custodian was honoured for what he had achieved with the club.

Chiefs hierarchy were public in their desire to keep Khune on in a coaching or marketing role, but the 'keeper seemed less keen on those options.

However, it was also not Kune's wish to retire despite being 37 years old and he felt he had what it takes to continue playing at the highest level.

The former Bafana Bafana goalkeeper wanted to emulate the Italian great Gianluigi Buffon who had played into his early 40s.

Chiefs, who had finished 10th in the 2023/24 season, wanted a fresh start and Khune had no active role in it, on the pitch.

The two parties did not agree on a different role which led to Khune's exit in his bid to venture into another business.

Fellow goalkeeping legend Brian Baloyi has since explained why he feels both parties were wrong with their approach.

"The situation could have been handled better from both ends. Blame must not only go to the club, but it must also go to Khune’s team and him as a person,” the former international stated.

"After all is said and done, as a man you have to take responsibility and stop with the blame game. I was chatting to friends recently and pointed out to them that in the past five to six years, he’s played less than 50 games.

"Imagine if he had put everything in his life on hold and focused on himself and his career. Six years is about 200 to 250 games and he would be sitting on more than 600 games and no one was going to catch him in the PSL.

"This is a legacy he could have built for himself, but when he is by himself and reflecting he will say 'You have done well but you could have done better'.

"I am not only saddened by the whole situation but also disappointed with the club, him, and the team managing him because they should have dealt this with much better," Baloyi concluded.

Have a look at the argument raised by the former Amakhosi keeper.

Khune recently entered the gambling market with a betting firm TopBet where he is one of the major shareholders.

It will be interesting to see whether Khune will make a return to Kaizer Chiefs in a different capacity in the future.