Former Orlando Pirates captain Oupa Manyisa has revealed why he made a shock move to Caf Champions League winners Mamelodi Sundowns.

The former Bafana Bafana international ended an almost decade-long stay with the Soweto giants when he joined the likes of George Lebese, Rivaldo Coetzee and Brimah Razak in signing for Masandawana.

The 29-year-old who ended up on the losing side for Pirates in the the finals of the Caf Champions League and Caf Confederation Cup respectively said his decision to grow as a player was largely the reason behind his move.

“As a player you have to grow,” he told the club’s official website.

“I took the path of growing by coming here. I will grow as a player here because I know that I have to start afresh and fight for my place in the team.

“It’s part of life. If I didn’t want to grow as a player I would have said that I don’t want to go anywhere, I just want to sit where I was already at and everything would be simple for me.

“I decided to go because there are some players who want to play football who were coming after me. I also felt that I wouldn’t be doing justice to the younger boys there if I stayed and blocked their progress.

“I had to leave so that they can start growing and make names for themselves. I also want to take my football to the next level which is why I joined an ambitious team like Sundowns that wants to win everything,’ he added.

Manyisa spoke of his delight at joining the Sundowns fraternity, citing the role of coach Pitso Mosimane in motivating his troops.

“It’s a nice atmosphere working with him because he lives football,” he continued.

“Everything about him is football. It shows in how he works and the results that the club has achieved.

“When you join his [Mosimane] team, you come here to live football. You don’t just come here, train and go to the game. You have to live football 24/7. I am also like that.

“It’s easier for me to even handle the assignments he gives us of analysing our games and our opponents. That’s what I have been doing all these years. Sitting home, watching football and analysing my opponents,” he concluded.

Photo: Gavin Barker/Backpagepix

-This story originally appeared on SportsClub.co.za