Al Wahda coach Pitso Mosimane says his club are not trying to buy Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder Gaston Sirino because he has no price tag.
There has been much speculation regarding the future of Sirino in the last few seasons, after he fell down the pecking order at Sundowns following the departure of Mosimane to Al Ahly in 2020.
Initial reports linked him with a reunion with Mosimane at Al Ahly, while he caused public stir after donning the Red Devils’ jersey after a fixture with Sundowns in Egypt.
But that didn’t come to fruition. Mosimane, speaking at the handover of his multi-purpose court to Lofentse Girls’ High School in Orlando yesterday – courtesy of Orlando Pirates winning the Nedbank Cup in May – explained why.
“When I was at Al Ahly, I wanted Sirino, and you know what happened? We approached them, and we never got the price. You never get a price,” the Nedbank Cup ambassador said.
“And if a player doesn’t have a price, you can’t buy the player.
Everything has a price. (Kylian) Mbappe has a £2 billion price tag, but Sirino doesn’t have a price tag.
“So, how do you buy a player that doesn’t have a price tag?
“I don’t want to go to the same set-up where I advised Al Ahly to get Sirino – where we approached Sundowns straight in the office – and he didn’t have a aprice tag.”
While Mosimane might have since left Al Ahly to join Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia, before his move to Al Wahda in the UAE, the Sirino rumours have continued to follow.
And they seem to have intensified, given that his coach Rulani Mokwena said Sirino told Sundowns to wait for an offer for him from a certain club.
Mosimane, though, all but denied allegations that Al Wahda will table an offer for the Uruguayan, considering he still doesn’t have a price tag.
“I don’t want to talk about Gaston Sirino, because this annoys me so much! If we want Sirino, we’ll go to Sundowns,” Mosimane explained.
“There’s been rumours – and a lot of talk. But also, are Sundowns prepared to sell Sirino?
“Sundowns don’t need money to sell Sirino. Sometimes those things are a lost cause. So, why do you go there?
“He still doesn’t have a price, so why do we want to buy players who do not have a price and there’s no negotiations?
“It’s wrong – lies in fact – and allegations that are saying that Al Wahda wants Sirino – people are tapping up Sirino.”
But while Mosimane insists that Sirino doesn’t have a price tag because Sundowns don’t want to sell him, he is still open to making an offer if the midfielder is up for sale.
“Of course, if Sirino is available, I will advise my office to say, ‘Let’s speak to him’. I know he’s not playing and disgruntled – probably because they don’t want him ... he dropped out of the team,” Mosimane said.
Since his departure from South African shores, Mosimane has been linked with a lot of Premiership talent, including Orlando Pirates’ Thembinkosi Lorch and Sundowns’ Peter Shalulile.
While Al Wahda are within their rights to table offers for players, Mosimane says they will try to sign players who have price tags.