'I said I would rather they give it to Pitso Mosimane!' Orlando Pirates hopeful Rhulani Mokwena breaks silence on job offer

Former Wydad Casablanca head coach Rhulani Mokwena has revealed that he turned down an offer to become Zamalek SC's tactician.

Mokwena is a free agent after he parted ways with the Moroccan giants, but he has not been short of offers.

Although he was approached by the Egyptian heavyweights, Mokwena stated he was not going to compete with Pitso Mosimane for the same job.

The former Orlando Pirates tactician said he would be happy to see Mosimane land the job instead.

"I didn’t hear from them (Zamalek) after I had said I heard that coach Pitso was also in the running for this position," Mokwena said on the Africa Soccer show.

"My relationship and my respect for him would not allow me to compete for the same coaching job with coach Pitso.

"It just wouldn’t sit well with me, so I pulled out. I said I would rather they give it to Pitso," he added.

"Exactly what you are saying, my agent said, 'But this is a big club', and I said my respect for Pitso and what he has done for my career wouldn’t allow me to do that."

Zamalek are in the market looking for a coach to succeed Jose Peseiro, who was shown the door.

Reports indicated that Mokwena, who has also been linked with a return to Pirates, was among the top candidates to take over at the Egyptian outfit.

Now Mokwena has revealed that Mosimane is also among the coaches Zamalek are reviewing, and in that case, he pulled out of the race.

Mokwena left Casablanca after a strained relationship with the club, even though he led them to a third-place finish last season despite those challenges.

He joined the Moroccan outfit after he left Sundowns, a club he won two Premier Soccer League titles and the African Football League with.

His refusal to take over at Zamalek means he has turned down an opportunity to try and prove himself in North Africa again.

With Pirates looking for a new coach, Mokwena has been linked with the vacancy.

This opportunity would give him a window to return and compete again in the PSL, that is, if he is offered.