Harambee Stars striker Masoud Juma will now play under a new head coach at Persian Gulf Pro League side Esteghlal, following the exit of Pitso Mosimane on Tuesday night.Mosimane’s management team MT Sports on Wednesday morning confirmed that the South African officially parted ways with the topflight side due to “unresolved issues regarding unpaid salaries owed to him and his technical team.”🚨FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:COACH PITSO MOSIMANE AND HIS TECHNICAL TEAM DEPART ESTEGHLAL FC. pic.twitter.com/gc9rBUFlu8— MTSports (@MTSports10) January 29, 2025 The development comes weeks after Mozzart Sport reported about Mosimane’s impending departure, when the 60-year-old issued a notice to the club demanding unpaid wages, while threatening to terminate his contract if payments were not made within 15 days.MT Sports Marketing & Management’s statement read: “Despite numerous opportunities provided by our team to resolve the matter—starting with initial discussions with the former CEO of the club last year, followed by a formal default notice delivered on 1 January 2025—Esteghlal FC failed to address the issue.”In good faith, Coach Pitso and the Technical Team extended a 15-day deadline as per the FIFA rules, to allow the new CEO and Board time to familiarize themselves with the situation and remedy the outstanding payments.”However, the club did not resolve within the deadlines they set for themselves.”##NAJAVA_MECA_8667508##Mosimane, who had only joined the team in October 2024, is said to have been owed more than two months of salary.In his time at the club, he lost only three league games in the 10 Pro League games he managed, while also qualifying them to the last 16 of the Iranian Cup.The former Mamelodi Sundowns and Al Ahly head coach also notably played a huge role in the signing of Kenya’s Juma late last year, after the striker was left as a free agent following recovery from a nasty Achilles tendon rupture.On Mosimane, Juma told Mozzart Sport recently: “He treats me like his son. When he brought me here in December, he encouraged me not to put myself under pressure. He has helped me grow in my confidence tremendously. He is the best coach to work under.”Masoud Juma on convincing Mosimane to sign him and flying private jets in IranJuma will now work under new faces – Sohrab Bakhtiarizadeh has been appointed as the interim coach – when his team takes on Esteghlal Khuzestan on Thursday afternoon.
