WARRIORS striker Evans Rusike’s talent had charmed Maritzburg United chairman Farook Kadodia so much that it was not easy for the boss to sell the Zimbabwean international to SuperSport United.

Rusike, who has netted eight times this season, penned a three-year deal with Matsatsantsa on Tuesday.

“It was quite a difficult decision for the club as Evans had become a household name in the City of Choice,” Kadodia told the club’s website.

“The club and the player had numerous pressures over the past two years as far as a move is concerned. The player’s desire was to play in Europe, and he touted this Maritzburg move as his door into Europe.

“As time went along, he looked at the proposal that was made to him by SuperSport and the negotiations were very professional.

“As Maritzburg United we want our players to be happy at all times and we supported the move. This kind of move shows the youngsters that there is a goal in football in South Africa, and thereafter Europe.

“As a club we now give the opportunity to the other strikers, Andrea Fileccia and Mohau Mokate, to take this chance to fill in the shoes of Rusike.

“The deal suited both the club and the player, in that it was a package deal done with SuperSport; there are some exciting young players that will be joining Maritzburg at the start of the new season, and there was also cash involved in the deal.

“The club has been under pressure – the expectation of the partnership with the municipality didn’t materialise the way we expect it. Maritzburg unfortunately don’t have the resources of the SuperSports, of the Gauteng teams and that is our challenge.

“We cannot sustain our whole operation without trading players. We appeal to the fans to stay behind the team. We’re still challenging for our goal, a strong top-eight position. The coach has been fulfilling his obligations and we need the support going forward to ensure we stay where we are.

“This kind of income helps us to off-set the shortfalls. Football is a business, a very big business. And for Maritzburg to survive, we need sponsors, we need partners like the municipality to grow the brand stronger.

“I’m very confident there will be a lot more exciting players coming through the Maritzburg team and we want to make this City of Choice proud that the Team of Choice are contributing to the success of football development and to the success of the team in the PSL.”

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