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Stanford Chiwanga, Online News Editor
AUGUST 25, 2020, a burofax arrives and Barcelona’s then president, Josep Maria Bartomeu, opens it and it tells him that Lionel Messi, the club’s greatest player wants to leave.

July 20, 2021, Raphael Varane, fresh from a holiday after a disappointing Euros tournament arrives in Madrid, Spain, and meets Real Madrid president, Florentino Perez. He respectfully informs him that his desire is to leave and try a new experience in the Premier League with Manchester United.

May 18, 2021, the English media is awash with stories that Daniel Levy, the Tottenham Hotspurs chairman, is angry with striker Harry Kane after he declared he wanted to leave in an interview.

The star striker had told Gary Neville that his future was up to him rather than the club he is contracted to for the next three years. He even suggested that Levy could accept a bid of £100 million.

Three months later, Kane is still at Spurs as the club has turned down Manchester City’s £125 million bid. Levy has defied the forward’s transfer wishes and blocked any potential exit.

August 17, 2021, Ariel Sibanda, Highlanders FC goalkeeper and captain, abandons all pretence of etiquette, logs in to his Facebook account and types a total of 53 words that announce that he is quitting Bosso.

“I feel very sad now as I have to leave the club I love. I would have loved to say goodbye to a fully packed BF (Barbourfields), but I’m grateful to everyone who supported me during my 13 years with the club. I wish the team a very good season when the league resumes,” he wrote.

There is no doubt that Sibanda thought using social media was a masterstroke. He didn’t write an official letter to the club for a reason. It is not like he forgot Johnfat Sibanda’s number. He saw no reason to send a WhatsApp message to Nhlanhla Dube, the club’s CEO. He chose to announce his departure through social media because he wanted the support and sympathy of the Highlanders’ fans.

Or maybe he didn’t want Highlanders to control the narrative?

Highlanders on their part did not fall for the bait to engage Sibanda in a social media mudslinging battle that could have left both parties with dirt. They chose to remain professional.

As long as Sibanda has not officially communicated his desire to leave, then his ill-advised Facebook post was nothing but piss in the wind.

“The club hasn’t received any form of communication from Ariel or any representative with regards to that subject,” Highlanders media and communications officer Ronald Moyo said when asked about Sibanda’s Facebook post.

What happens next is anyone’s guess. Perhaps Sibanda is just trying to force the club to squeeze water from a stone and pay him and his teammates the two months’ salaries they are owed. Or maybe he really intends to leave and find water from a well that will quench his thirst. But the way he has gone about it has ensured that his exit will not be amicable.

A battle of wills is the only certainty from here. Highlanders might miraculously pay off the players. Or Sibanda, a loyal servant for 13 years, might trigger a massive player exodus.

If Sibanda wants to leave, no one will stop him as Fifa statutes state that a player only walks away after giving his club a notice of 15 days to pay what it owes him. Sibanda has not really given Highlanders notice of his wish to go, even though he thinks he has. Maybe he will, maybe he won’t.

Sibanda is a good shot stopper, there is no doubt about that, and he knows it. And he scores goals too, a fact that is not lost to many potential suitors.

But, he is replaceable and must be reminded of that. Highlanders was there before him and will be there after him.

He is not the first goalkeeper that Highlanders have ever had and he won’t be the last. Already there is a queue of shot stoppers that are eager to replace him.

And it might be good riddance. He has been a pain in the back in 2021. He has been leading the numerous strikes, sit-ins and threats that have seen Highlanders on the back pages of newspapers for the wrong reasons.

To say he has been a liability is an understatement. Sibanda has brought nothing but grief to the Highlanders executive. He has embarrassed the club and turned it into a joke. If he was a novel character he would be Jack in Lord of the Flies.

He has led the players in attempts to arm twist the executive. He will be remembered as the player who was captain when players first threatened to strike during the Chibuku Super Cup after more than a year out of action, but on full pay. No one will quickly forget how he spearheaded a sit-in and refused to train, demanding a wage increase. Under his captaincy, Bosso players have made it sport to besiege the club’s offices. They even demanded an audience with the club chairman.

This year has seen Sibanda’s presence at Highlanders turn into a bittersweet affair. The captain, who used to bring joy to the club, now divides opinions among the Bosso faithful and his off the field antics do not reflect the club’s values.

Highlanders must not bother trying to beg Sibanda to stay. Covid-19 has frozen football in Zimbabwe and chances of a ball being kicked this year are naught and the Bosso executive must grant Sibanda’s wishes when he officially informs them of his desire to leave.

And if anyone wants to follow him through the exit door, the Bosso executive must lay the red carpet for them. Highlanders’ determination to hold onto its players rather than lose them does not make sense. Ask other clubs if they are happy to pay inactive players; the answer is no.

The truth is that until fans are allowed back into the stadia, paying players is an unwelcome burden. They are an albatross around the necks of the majority of clubs.

So for Highlanders, the club suffering the most because of rebellious players, it would surely be better to accept the inevitable and get some business done rather than continue to pretend the stormy marriage is somehow going to sail into a serene and productive future. Get rid of them and sign players that understand that it’s not business as usual until the fans are back. Promote junior players and they will fight for the badge.

Letting go of players need not be seen as a knee-jerk reaction or punishment for the perceived disloyalty of speaking out. Highlanders simply have to accept that Covid-19 has messed up their finances and ability to pay players what they want. Bosso’s first concern should be securing the club’s future in these hard times, not the need to keep up appearances.

Highlanders do not need players who would rather be somewhere else. They must let Ariel and other rubble rousers go. The club is in an unenviable position and in all likelihood will find it hard to get a sponsor as companies that could jump at the chance to pour funds into Highlanders are also trying to survive Covid-19.

It might be painful to start afresh, but Highlanders deserve an end to this player instigated background noise during this time of inactivity.