After Cosmos were relegated last season, Rusike declared himself a free agent so he could join a team of his choice.

This opened trials for him at Ajax Cape Town where he was about to sign, but when he attracted interest from Chiefs, he decided against moving to Ikamva .

The delay by Chiefs in signing the player was also due to the challenge Cosmos initially made to the Premier Soccer League’s dispute resolution chamber which was scheduled for last Tuesday.

But on the day, the player was cleared to play for Chiefs as representatives of Cosmos never pitched for the hearing.

“He is our player now after being declared eligible by the PSL,” Chiefs officials said on Wednesday and the Zimbabwean had signed a three-year deal with Amakhosi. But Cosmos are still not convinced: “We are planning to appeal and carry on fighting this decision,” Sono said. “We are not surprised they did this.

Cosmos is not one of the favourites with the PSL and we don’t expect anything from them.” Cosmos’ argument is that they had an option to renew the player’s deal upon expiry.

It is not the first time the former Bafana Bafana coach finds himself at loggerheads with a player over contractual issues. Five seasons ago, he had to send Liberian Anthony Laffor to his development side after the midfielder had agreed to a pre-contract with SuperSport United six months before his Cosmos deal expired.

Laffor obliged and trained with Ezenkosi juniors with Sono seething at his decision to exclude him from the proceedings of the deal. Now Rusike will have to wait for the legal wrangle between the two clubs to clear before he plays.