No end to Jali’s Downs contract impasse

On Tuesday, coach Rulani Mokwena also declined to give an update on the player’s future, with his initial response to a question by SABC Sport being that the club would soon “give a directive and an announcement”, a comment that leaves more questions than answers on whether the 32-year-old will remain at Downs. 

Jali is in the final four months of his contract at Chloorkop and after at first confirming that the two parties were in talks, his agent Mike Makaab suggested recently that the ball was in Sundowns’ court to decide if they want to retain his client’s services or move on. 

“I don’t want to get too much into that space because it’s quite polluted with – as you said – ‘he said, she said’ type of stuff,” Mokwena said when asked for the latest on the former Orlando Pirates star. 

“So, I’d rather not comment on it because I have spoken extensively about it already in the past and to avoid being misquoted…I’d rather not comment on the situation.” 

Jali joined Sundowns when he was recruited by Mokwena’s predecessor Pitso Mosimane in 2018 at the end of his spell with Belgium topflight outfit KV Oostende, and it was understood then that the Brazilians had beat Pirates to his signature. 

With Downs adding more midfielders to the squad this season in Sipho Mbule, Marcelo Allende and Bongani Zungu, it appears Jali has fallen down the pecking order, although he has still managed a credible 15 matches so far. 

The Bafana Bafana international has, however, either missed out, been an unused sub or come off the bench in the big fixtures recently. 

And those include big matches against Kaizer Chiefs, Pirates and the CAF Champions League group stages. 

“I think the club will give a directive and an announcement and a response in due course, at the right time when the club deems it necessary,” Mokwena concluded.