Orlando Pirates star Thembinkosi Lorch says it hurts him to watch his former team-mate Marshall Munetsi playing in France, having failed to secure a move for himself to an overseas club.

The 26-year-old who was named Absa Premiership Player of the Year in the previous season attracted interest from several clubs in Europe, but nothing came out of it.

For Munetsi, his move to Ligue 1 side Stade de Reims in June 2019 was an unexpected one since the Zimbabwean midfielder had only managed a handful of appearances at Pirates, spending much of the time on loan or at the stands.

Speaking to KickOff.com in the past week, Lorch admitted that he is still disappointed for not getting a deal abroad.

He said: “I still feel this pain in my heart you see, and I don’t think it’s something that is going to end soon.

“For now it still hurts you see, especially when I see the likes of [Marshall] Munetsi playing overseas [for Reims]. It really pains me.”

The striker cited Percy Tau as another example.

“I think I’ve done my thing in Mzansi. I’ve won the player of the season, I went to AFCON, and even there I played well.

“But like I said before, I’m still hurt for not going overseas. The likes of Percy Tau left after becoming player of the season, a lot of players left… so I expected the same thing to happen to me,” Lorch added.