The former Bidvest Wits midfielder signed a three-year contract with the Buccaneers after turning down an offer to join Belgium side Racing Genk.
Some people criticised Masalesa for ‘chasing the money', knowing that he would face a struggle breaking into the first team given all the quality players in his position, but the 23-year-old is not fazed.
"I only started training with the club last week Thursday and both the players and technical team gave me a warm welcome," he tells snl24.com/kickoff. "I believe I am in the right place at the right time."
He adds: "In every big team there is competition for places and Pirates is obviously a big team with lots of quality. I don't think they would have signed me if they didn't think I was going to add quality to the side.
"The only thing left for me is to work hard, fight for my place and help the club continue to achieve success."
The move to Pirates has not only seen 'Vieira' reunite with his former Wits teammates Sifiso Myeni and Patrick Phungwayo, but also with Roger de Sa, who was appointed as Bucs' new coach last week.
"I am happy to work with Roger de Sa again, though never expected to happen so soon," Masalesa says. "He is the person that helped me grow as a player at Wits and I am happy to play under him again.
"However, I know I cannot expect favours and that I will have to redouble my efforts at training and prove that I deserve to play for Pirates."
