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Cape Town - Newly signed SuperSport United defender Bongani Khumalo said that it was a great experience playing in Europe and feels he never wasted the prime years of his career.
Khumalo signed for Tottenham Hotspurs but failed to make any appearances for the club and instead was offloaded out on several loan spells in and around the United Kingdom.
The 28-year-old says the experience he gained in Europe was priceless; improved his game and his mentality not only as a footballer but as a man.
"No, no, no…absolutely not! I think people forget and I can't understand why someone would say waste," he told the PSL website.
"I mean it’s been such an amazing experience. I had a good amount of games there, playing in Greece and in the UK, in the Championship.
"The experience was priceless. I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world.
"It's opened my mind to a lot of things, it's improved my game and it's improved my mentality."
The defender admits he is grateful for the opportunity that former Matsatsantsa mentor, Gavin Hunt, gave him at the time and thankful to everyone that believed in him and his skills.
“Not just as a footballer, but as a man as well, it has improved me. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity and I'm very blessed to have had that opportunity.
“I'm eternally grateful for it and I'm thankful to everyone at SuperSport to have made it possible at the time.
“Obviously Gavin Hunt is the man that gave me my chance in professional football and I'm very grateful for that.
“Football is a career you know, there's ups and downs…it's a journey. You have to work hard and make the most of your time playing the game,” he concluded.
