The General’s Warning: Modise Urges PSL Stars to Ditch Flamboyance and Benchmark Themselves Against Themba Zwane
Former Mamelodi Sundowns star and CAF Champions League winner Teko ‘The General’ Modise has issued a stern warning to current PSL players.
He is urging them to prioritize pitch performance over social media clout, luxury vehicles, and lifestyle status.
Flashy vehicles, high-end fashion, and high-profile relationships should be the last priorities for a PSL footballer, according to Teko Modise.
Speaking on The Car Wash Podcast, the former Bafana Bafana midfielder cautioned that too many modern players are chasing an opulent lifestyle rather than mastering their craft, stressing that a inflated public profile does not equal genuine success.
“Not everybody is going to be a superstar,” Modise warned. “Just because you are being profiled, it does not mean you’ve made it.
“How many stars have gone to big teams with high profiles and never did anything, leaving without money?”
Reflecting on his own playing days, ‘The General’ offered a blunt assessment of how footballing priorities have shifted toward off-pitch posturing.
“Stop comparing money, stop comparing cars,” Modise said. “I want footballers to start competing on the pitch — inside those four lines — and stop competing about cars and girls.
“In our era, we used to compete about that nonsense, and I don’t want the new players to do the same thing.
“Compete about who can be better than ‘Mshishi’ (Themba Zwane), and then go show each other on the pitch. That’s what is important, and that’s why the fans come into the stadium.”
Modise highlighted figures who genuinely drew crowds to venues — naming Orlando Pirates starlet Relebohile Mofokeng alongside past entertainers Jabu Mahlangu and Steve Lekoelea — reminding players that earnings do not always define a player’s impact or gift.
“The chances are that there was someone earning more money than Jabu Mahlangu, even though he was the one who made people buy tickets,” Modise noted.
“But he cannot be mad about that because he was given a gift he must appreciate, along with longevity to stay involved in football.”
Modise’s ultimate message to the next generation remains simple: focus on delivering between the touchlines — the personal brand can wait.
