The suspense around the future of Kaizer Chiefs goalkeeper Rowen Fernandez was finally ended on Monday with the announcement the player would be leaving the club at the end of June.
Fernandez, whose contract talks with Amakhosi were suspended earlier in the year after a deadlock, informed Chiefs team manager Bobby Motaung on Sunday that he would not be renewing his current contract with the club when it runs out at the end of June, according to a report on Monday on the SuperSport zone website
Instead Fernandez will be teaming up with former Chiefs coach Ernst Middendorp at German Bundesliga club Arminia Bielefeld, who Middendorp joined after being let go from his coaching duties at the Amakhosi in late February.
Fernandez had been in protracted negotiations with the club since the start of the year, and a decision was taken by Chiefs at the start of April to halt negotiations with the player to afford him the opportunity to concentrate on playing out the rest of the season with out any distractions.
”It most definitely is a sad moment for us to lose a player of Rowen’s calibre; some how we knew it was coming, hence negotiations to renew his contract had stalled,” Chiefs chairperson Kaizer Motaung told the club’s official website.
”However, we do take the opportunity to wish him all the best as he moves on in his career to Germany. As a club we are proud to have played a part in enhancing his career, which has resulted for him in a move to one of the major leagues in the world.”
”When I signed for Chiefs in 2001 I was a relatively unknown player and the club took the risk and brought me to Naturena,” said Fernandez. ”I would like to thank Kaizer Motaung and Bobby and every one else at the club for all that they have done for me over the past six years. If I had not come to Chiefs in 2001 I seriously doubt that I would have achieved and won the trophies that I have.”
The player will depart for Germany at the end of June where he will join his new teammates before kicking off his three-year tenure with Bielefeld. He will spend a few days in Germany before travelling with the rest of the squad to Austria for their pre-season camp. — Sapa