Mbokazi lauded for brave Chicago Fire move! 'Why are we acting like Mbokazi is in jail? Even Benni McCarthy went from Celta Vigo, Ajax Cape Town, to Orlando Pirates'

In his final game with Orlando Pirates, Mbekezeli Mbokazi helped them win the Carling Knockout after a 1-0 win over Marumo Gallants.

The youngster then played a crucial role in helping Bafana Bafana reach the Round of 16 in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) before falling to the five-time champions, the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon.

Mbokazi is now expected to link up with the Major League Soccer outfit for the new season.

A section of South African football stakeholders felt that Mbokazi is too good for a move to MLS, but not the Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie.

“Let me tell you something. The agent of Mbokazi did the best thing. Mbokazi is the highest paid. Nobody has ever been sold for that type of money in South Africa. Show me any other player who was paid that amount. No one. Absolutely no one," he told the media.

“Why are we acting like Mbokazi is in jail now in the [Major League Soccer]? The US League is one of the fastest-growing in the world. We mustn’t underestimate it. The fact that the World Cup is going there brings attention to that league. I think it was a great move.”

“Benni went from Celta Vigo, Ajax Cape Town, Pirates, people paid for him. So why not Mbokazi?” He added.

In his previous interview, Broos argued that Mbokazi's agent was wrong to take the player to the MLS.

“I think no [it’s not a good move]. What is he going to do in Chicago?” The veteran tactician stated.

“It’s not even a cup team in America. If my info is right, they told me he’s playing in 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.

“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. 

“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.

However, McKenzie has a different opinion.

“It’s always so difficult for women in a man’s world. That lady has beaten all the male agents out here," he argued.

 They were selling players for peanuts. She comes with the biggest offer. How do we criticise her?”

“Mbokazi is one of the greatest defenders I’ve seen. Whoever wants him should go buy him. If European teams want him, let them pay more. Mbokazi makes more money; everybody makes more money. I bless the move," McKenzie concluded.

"The 20-year-old completed a successful medical and finalised personal terms with the Men in Red during his recent trip to the United States, paving the way for a move of a lifetime for the Bafana Bafana international," Pirates said in a statement.

"Mbokazi’s growth has been nothing short of meteoric. In his debut year as a professional (5 March 2025), he has already lifted his first piece of silverware with the Mighty Buccaneers and, on the international front, earned a call-up to the senior national team. Such has been the impact that he is widely expected to be part of the squad heading to the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.

"Following positive discussions between the management of both clubs, it has been agreed that Mbokazi will remain with Orlando Pirates until the final official fixture of 2025.

"He will then embark on a new chapter of his football journey across the Atlantic, joining Chicago Fire as the next step in what promises to be an exceptional career," they concluded.

Mbokazi won the MTN8 and Carling Knockout while turning out for the Soweto giants.