KHAMA BILLIAT might be in the twilight of his football career but the ex-Kaizer Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns talisman is set for yet another big pay day as well as personal and club record.
Billiat, who has been signed by Yadah Stars, is set to break new ground for the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League as he will reportedly earn US$5 000 per month.
Yadah, who survived relegation on the last day of the 2023 season, are also understood to have splashed US$20 000 in signing-on fees for Billiat, who is a free agent.
The Yadah officials and sponsors were at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport on Tuesday night to welcome Billiat, before the player put pen to paper at the Prophetic Healing Deliverance Ministries (PHD)-owned club on Wednesday morning.
In securing Billiat’s signature, Yadah moved in swiftly to fend off Dynamos FC’s bid for the player.
Although he was not at liberty to reveal the figures, Yadah chairperson Everson Chatambudza confirmed they had gone the extra mile to lure the forward, who has been clubless in the last nine months since parting ways with South African Premiership giants Kaizer Chiefs.
“What I can say is that we negotiated with Khama. We flew him from South Africa and we should unveil him tomorrow (Thursday).
“I wouldn’t know what other clubs are paying their players in order to confirm if what we have offered him makes him the highest paid player.
“At the moment, I am not at liberty to talk about figures, but maybe after the official unveiling has been done, we are still working on the logistics of the unveiling ceremony.
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“Considering his huge profile and that he was also the highest paid player at Kaizer Chiefs, yes we had to table a very good offer for him and we believe he is worth it,” Chatambudza said.
The Yadah boss also ruled out sending the former Zimbabwe international on loan.
“We have no plans to loan him out; we actually believe that his experience will come in handy for Yadah.
“In fact, we would not be paying a record-breaking fee for him just to empower our rivals.
“For us, there are a lot of considerations that came into play in our decision to sign Khama.
“He is a player with such a big profile and it helps with our commercial drive, through the sale of replicas as well as brand visibility.
“Those that will be tracking Khama will also get a chance to see some of the talented players we have at Yadah and there is no doubting that Khama still attracts interest on the international scene, including in South Africa,” Chatambudza added.
