Al Ahly President Mahmoud El Khatib revealed the process the club of Century took to enroll Pitso Mosimane from Mamelodi Sundowns.

Pitso announced his departure from Mamelodi Sundowns in October and shocked the African footballing family. And days after, he was appointed new Al Ahly head coach as Rene Weiler left the Cairo side.

Red Devils president then revealed that the Swiss manager himself asked for a vacation to go and see his family and was not clear on renewing his contract.

“…We felt that Weiler wanted to leave the club amid COVID-19 pandemic. Also, there was a ten-day period in his contract allowing both parties to terminate the contract without a penalty clause,” the former Egypt international explained, per Kickoff.

“I met with Weiler and told him that we need stability in the team but he asked for a vacation to visit his family. I asked him to renew his contract but he was not clear so I rejected his request as the time was not appropriate.

Read more: Pitso Mosimane: Al Ahly boss tested positive for Covid-19 – report

Moreover, Mahmoud El Khatib revealed that the desire of Pitso Mosimane to join Cairo facilitated the negotiations, though they waited until Mamelodi Sundowns approved his exit before signing him.

“I felt that Weiler did now want to continue with the team and he refused to renew his contract so I held a meeting with the planning committee and discussed the alternatives with Zakaria Nassef and Mohsen Saleh.

“We had many candidates from Czech Republic and Argentina, but I suggested searching for a head coach who has much experience in Africa. We started thinking out of the box and Mosimane was among our top four candidates for the job.

“Mosimane had the strongest resume as he is a very good coach and faced many challenges with the teams he coached. He was in charge of Mamelodi Sundowns for eight years and renewed his contract for another five years.

“When we became sure that Mosimane suits us, I contacted him and he was happy with our offer, and his desire played a great role in the negotiations.

“We informed him that he must have an approval from Sundowns President to complete the deal as we followed the legal channels to keep our strong relationship with Mamelodi Sundowns.

“Mosimane sent us a written approval and signed his contract. We waited until Sundowns announced their approval on Mosimane’s departure then we signed the contract.

“I have a great relationship with Sundowns’ President, who is a well-respected personality, and we met on many occasions at CAF meetings. I wanted to make sure about his approval as we always seek to keep our strong relationship with other clubs.”