Johannesburg - Benni McCarthy says he wants to change some South Africans' perceptions of him, and that is one reason he signed for Orlando Pirates.

Bafana Bafana's all-time record goalscorer has sealed a two-year deal with Julio Leal's side and says he still has ambitions to shut up the critics in his homeland.

McCarthy has been overweight in recent years, leading to mocking in the South African press, but says he is ready to show the country his best before eventually hanging up his boots.

"One of my biggest ambitions has always been to feel what it feels like to be a champion playing in the PSL," the 33-year-old said.

"There is only a handful teams that can provide you with that (opportunity to gain respect) in South Africa and if you think as a footballer then you go for the best and Pirates is the team that could provide me with that, not just in terms of winning things but also in terms of getting the respect from the people.

"Hopefully Pirates can help me achieve my dream of being a champion in South Africa. They won the treble last season, but now they are even more ambitious because they want to add the (CAF) Champions League and they wanna add the top goalscorer to their collection, and that's where I come in.

"I can only achieve it playing for the best team and Pirates can provide me with the opportunity to refresh people's memories of the Benni they got to know in Burkina Faso (in 1998 during the AFCON).

"I'm here to win things and I'm not here on a holiday or a nice retirement. I wanna go out leaving a legacy behind, that's why I'm here."