Former Kaizer Chiefs captain Siphiwe Tshabalala has revealed that he had attracted interest from clubs in China, Italy and Turkey before the Covid-19 lockdown occurred.

The 35-year-old has been a free agent since parting ways with Turkish side Erzurumspor after the club was relegated to the second division last year.

However, Tshabalala will now sit down with his family to make a decision on his future, whether to go back overseas or remain in South Africa.

‘The plan was to be back on the field sooner, and I picked up an injury late last year as we were about to embark on another journey, so that was a blow for me,’ Shabba told Safja.

‘I recovered from the injury and, as I was about to leave, the situation that we’re currently facing happened, so I had to put everything on hold and understand that it can’t happen at that particular time.

‘There was no movement or anything, so in a way I shifted my focus to matters that have been affecting us from that particular period until now.

‘I still hope that, when this is all over, I’ll get an opportunity to be back on the field again. I had offers – before lockdown – to play overseas, there was interest in China, Italy and also in Turkey.

‘Obviously after this, one has to sit down and think, “Do I still want to go abroad or do I want to play here at home and end my career as well?”

‘But the decision that I’ll take will be a collective decision with my family. It will be a decision that will favour my family as well, so we’ll see about that.’