Kaizer Chiefs legend Doctor Khumalo has indicated George Maluleka was unhappy at Amakhosi and that his departure is a great loss for the club.
The experienced midfielder officially parted ways with the Soweto giants on Tuesday, June 30 when his contract with the club expired.
Nicknamed Mido, Maluleka is now set to join Mamelodi Sundowns having signed a pre-contract with the Tshwane giants earlier this year.
"It is a great loss man. I'm sure both parties didn't want to end the marriage like that," Khumalo told IOL.
"But obviously there are things that are beyond the game that maybe both parties couldn't come to terms in terms of understanding each other."
Maluleka played an instrumental role in helping Amakhosi challenge for this season's PSL title and he has left the team placed at the top of the league standings.
"It is an unfortunate situation. At the end of the day, it is all about being happy. It is all about delivering the goods for the club and you must do that with pride," Khumalo said.
"But if you are not happy, there's no way that you are going to be able to deliver."
The Bafana Bafana international decided to leave Amakhosi after failing to reach an agreement over a new deal with the club's management.
Khumalo revealed he recently spoke to Maluleka, who called him to wish him a happy birthday when the Amakhosi legend celebrated his 52nd birthday on June 26.
"George has been a wonderful boy, I worked with him when we won the league with Stuart Baxter," he added.
"I had an opportunity to talk to him when he called me to wish me a happy birthday. Obviously, as his senior, I wanted to ask how he is.
"He did explain to me. Obviously, I can divulge that. But the sound of his tone was low because he was not happy."
Maluleka, 30, helped Chiefs clinch the PSL title and MTN8 during his five-and-a-half-year stint with the Soweto giants.
