Johannesburg — According to Kaizer Chiefs, uncontracted striker Khama Billiat has ‘gone awol’ and efforts to try and get hold of him have not been successful.
Billiats contract with Chiefs expired at the end of June. The club tabled a new bid for the Zimbabwean marksman to remain at Naturena for the foreseeable future, but there has been no concrete agreement as yet.
“Billiat was last seen at the Kaizer Chiefs village on 29 June and has not answered any of the calls made or messages sent to him by the club,” the club said in the statement.
And with the team said to be in pre-season in Mbombela under the tutelage of new coach Molefi Ntseki, Billiat was expected to be part and parcel of the group – only for him to pull a no show.
“The team is currently in camp with all the players, yet Billiat, who is expected to be there with his teammates, failed to show up and is currently nowhere to be found,” the club said.
Since his surprise move from Mamelodi Sundowns in the winter of 2018, Billiat has been a shadow of himself at Amakhosi as he failed to help the club to win a single trophy in five seasons.
At Chiefs, he’s made 125 appearances across all competitions, scoring 24 goals, and racking up 29 assists, while he’s been battling with recurring injuries as well.
Despite having that poor return, Chiefs were said to have offered the 33-year-old a new deal if he takes a pay-cut given that he’s one of the highest paid players not only at Chiefs but in the PSL.
Chiefs’ football manager Bobby Motaung refuted the allegations, though, telling Sowetan Live last week that they were still deadlocked in negotiations with Billiat for a new deal.
"I don't know that (Billiat is refusing to accept a reduced package),” Motaung said. “Khama is negotiating a new contract with the club (since) his contract has expired.
“It's not a salary cut (that's being negotiated). A salary cut happens when somebody is earning so much, and the employer cuts his salary.
"With Khama, there's no salary cut because the negotiations are still about the new contract.How can you cut the salary of a person who doesn't have a contract?
“The negotiations are ongoing, and we hope he stays but we don't know what will come out of the negotiations at the end of the day."
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