Katsande tells Khama Billiat to leave Kaizer Chiefs

KAIZER Chiefs legend Willard Katsande feels the timing is right for his "boy" Khama Billiat and Amakhosi to end their five-year marriage.

"Khama is my boy and my boy is a good boy. Obviously they (Billiat and Chiefs) didn't reach an agreement over a new contract. I know both sides and I understand both sides. For the team, it's a matter of trying to move in a direction where they prioritise younger players and for Billiat, he's trying to look after himself because now he has a few years left (before retiring)," Katsande told Sowetan.

"I feel like the two parties had a good journey and obviously every journey will get to its destination. So, I think this is the final destination for both sides. I wish both sides all the best going forward. It's been a good ride for Khama to be there for five years and the club looked after him for all those years."

Last week, South African soccer giants Chiefs raised eyebrows when they disclosed that Billiat had taken no notice of the club's new offer after his contract expired at the end of last month, adding they had not heard from him since June 29 when he was at Naturena as "he has not answered any of the calls made or messages sent to him by the club".

This publication reported two weeks ago that Chiefs wanted to scale down Billiat's salary and he's not keen on taking a reduced package, hoping to get a team that'd match his wage expectations in North Africa or Saudi Arabia.

The 2015/16 season's recipient of the PSL Player of the Season award scored 24 goals and racked up 29 assists from 126 matches in the Glamour Boys shirt since arriving from Mamelodi Sundowns in the winter of 2018.

While he'll go down as one of the best players in PSL history, Billiat didn't live up to expectations at Amakhosi, failing to inspire the club to even one piece of silverware.