Comparisons have already been drawn between the Rangers target and a Barcelona legend. Now, the potentially Ibrox-bound attacker is being mentioned in the same breath as another La Liga icon, albeit one who played on the other side of the Clasico divide.
Ronaldo, the original rather than his preening Portuguese namesake, took world football by storm at PSV Eindhoven, Inter Milan, Barcelona and eventually Real Madrid; standing out head and shoulders above the rest of his generation due to his fearlessness, his TNT-powered explosiveness, and pace that could sear a rack of lamb.
A case in point; Ronaldo’s remarkable solo goal vs Compostela in 1996. The baby-faced Brazilian would pick up the ball inside his own half and drive through almost the entirety of the opposition team before slotting home.
Relebohile Mofokeng‘s stoppage time winner during Orlando Pirates’ 2-1 triumph over Mamelodi Sundowns in the final of the Nedbank Cup last weekend might not have been quite so spectacular in it’s creation.
But, in the view of Pirates legend Benedikt Vilakazi, there were shades of a young Ronaldo about the way the Rangers-linked Mofokeng bamboozled with his way past a stunned defender with a blink-and-you-miss-it nutmeg before slotting home with almost the final kick of the match.
Rangers lead Relebohile Mofokeng race
“As soon as that ball got to him, I knew something would happen,” Vilakazi, who also began his career with Orlando Pirates, tells iDiskiTimes. “I knew because he is not afraid of anything. That’s top class.
“You know top players, like Ronaldo of Brazil, they didn’t care when they were in that position. If he is there and if it needs a toe, put that toe in.”
Mofokeng, drifting in from the left onto his right boot to often devastating effect, has been likened to Andres Iniesta back home in South Africa. He is, however, less of a playmaker like Iniesta. Instead, more an old-school, rocket-heeled winger in the mould of, perhaps, another Brazil and Real Madrid superstar in Vinicius Junior.
Despite still being a few months out from his 20th birthday, there is a feeling in some quarters – albeit one not shared by South Africa’s head coach – that Mofokeng has already outgrown the domestic game. The twinkle-toed teenager had a trial at Wolves in 2023, but the Scottish Sun believe that Rangers have since moved into pole position to secure his signature.
Mofokeng’s father believes that there is one destination that stands out head and shoulders above the rest, however. And it is not the Scottish Premiership.
Likened to Barcelona and Real Madrid legends
“I’ll be honest – and Rele knows (my opinion) – I am praying that he can get a team in Holland,” Sechaba Mofokeng says via SNL24, urging his son to follow in the footsteps of South Africa hero and one-time Ajax prospect Steven Pienaar.
“I said that he will only spent two years there (in the Netherlands) before moving to a big team. Holland is the best development country. I’ll make an example and say Steven Pienaar. He went to Holland. That’s what I am praying for, for my son.
“If it happens that he gets a team elsewhere, I will be happy. But I told him he would only be there for two years and then he must get a big team.
“Then, I will be the happiest man in the world.”
