Cape Town - Former Mamelodi Sundowns captain Alje Schut revealed that club owner Patrice Motsepe offered him a salary increase to try convince him to stay.
Schut spent three seasons at Sundowns where he skippered the side to the Premiership title in 2015 and Nedbank Cup glory last year.
The 35-year-old defender opted to return home to the Netherlands, but not before the billionaire boss offered made an enticing proposition.
"I had a long conversation with coach Pitso about it, but you know what they say about family always coming first," Schut told Soccer Laduma.
"Football is for a part of your life but family is forever, so for me there was not really a choice.
"Even the president, Patrice Motsepe asked me 'Is it about money?' and I told him it wasn't.
"He said he could give me a raise, no problem, but I told him, 'No, no. Thank you, but this isn't about money at all'."