Hugo Broos revisits Mbekezeli Mbokazi's Chicago Fire transfer 'I made people angry' and compares former Orlando Pirates star to English Premier League winner after shutting down Mohamed Salah in Bafana Bafana AFCON defeat to Egypt

Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos has revisited Mbekezeli Mbokazi's transfer from Orlando Pirates to Chicago Fire.

After quick development at Pirates, Mbokazi became a key figure in the Bucs' ranks and rose to become one of the club's captains.

His fast development saw Broos give him a Bafana call-up, where he also impressed and became a key defensive asset. However, the experienced tactician was particularly dissatisfied when the 20-year-old decided to join Chicago Fire in MLS.

Broos' comments on the defender's move and particularly on his agent risked tearing Bafana's unity apart just before the AFCON finals.

"I made some people angry a few weeks ago when I said the MLS move is not the best move for him. Yesterday, you saw why, because for me, he was the Man of the Match against Egypt," Broos said.

"One thing I can remember in the second half, there was a long ball from deep to Mo Salah, and Mbokazi gave him no chance at all. That shows his quality, his timing, and his reading of the game.

"That shows the quality of Mbokazi, and now you can understand why I'll be very angry if this guy ruins his career," he added.

According to the former Cameroon head coach, well-established leagues like France's Ligue 1 or Spain's La Liga are the best options for Mbokazi.

“Mbokazi should move to a bigger competition, a European competition, France, for example, or even Spain. Not Real Madrid or Barcelona, but a good Spanish team,” Broos added.

“He is already playing at that level, and he will only improve when he comes up against better players week in and week out. This is normal development, but if you look at the level he is at right now, you can see it clearly.

“And I think now you also understand why I would be very angry if this guy were to ruin his career. This is a player who can have a very big career.”

Broos was asked if Mbokazi can develop to the level of former Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany whom Broos gave a breakthrough to at Belgian club Anderlecht.

“Don’t misunderstand me, I don’t want to compare him to Vincent Kompany at all, but I see similar qualities. Kompany also had that confidence at the same age, but he needed to move elsewhere," Broos explained.

“His first one or two years were at Hamburg in Germany, where they taught him how to live as a professional and how to develop the right attitude.

"After that, he went to Manchester City and became a fantastic player. That same path is possible for Mbokazi. That is why I say Chicago is not the right place for him.”

In a pre-AFCON press conference, the 73-year-old tore into Mbokazi for coming late into the camp. He did not stop there; he expressed his opinion on the MLS move, where he also dragged the defender's agent for completing the transfer just before the AFCON finals.

“I think no [it’s not a good move]. What is he going to do in Chicago?. It’s not even a cup team in America. If my info is right, they told me he’s playing MLS2, at the second team of Chicago – if it’s true, I don’t know; I will ask him when I see him. That is even worse," he said then.

"But I know what happened; a woman who is his agent and thinks she knows football is doing what many agents are doing and thinking, 'How much can I get?'"

"If she is a little bit clever, she knows there is AFCON, and next year it’s the World Cup, and that there will be other teams, better for his career, to go to and not to Chicago," the veteran tactician added.

“What is he going to do there alone in a big city like that? So no, I don’t think it’s a good choice,” he concluded.

Broos later apologised for his controversial comments.