Former Orlando Pirates midfielder Andile Cele has launched a scathing attack on the Soweto giants, questioning their tendency to buy players that shouldn’t play for the team.

Cele discussed the current Pirates crop, following a dismal campaign which saw them finish the campaign in eleventh spot – their worst-ever finish in the PSL and the former youth international has highlighted just how far the Mayfair based-outfit haven fallen from grace.

“To be honest, any player can play for Pirates nowadays,” Cele told Isolezwe.

“In the past, Pirates were equal to (Kaizer) Chiefs and you could compare them to (Real) Madrid and (FC) Barcelona in Spain.

“Not everyone can just sign for Barcelona and share the same dressing room with (Lionel) Messi – it takes a special player or quality to be in the same dressing room with him,’ he added.

Cele then lambasted Pirates captain Oupa Manyia who ensured somewhat of a difficult season netting three goals and notching up five assists in 35 appearances in all competitions.

“If a top player at Pirates is Manyisa then this means any player who scores one or two goals in the ABC Motsepe League can be signed by Pirates.

“It was difficult to join Pirates in the past. There was quality, players such as Thabo Mngomeni, Godfrey Sapula as well as Pollen Ndlanya, guys who played overseas

“It was not easy to play with them. You had to be at your best to play with them. We came from KwaZulu-Natal and we were a finished product, quality (players).

“Even people would notice that we were ready to play for a big club like Pirates,” he concluded.

Photo: Gerhard Duraan/BackpagePix

– This story originally appeared on SoccerClub.co.za