— Cape Town Mamelodi Sundowns have demonstrated that they are not hesitant to open their wallets in order to bolster their already formidable roster, but the arrival of Chilean international Marcelo Allende established a completely new standard for South African soccer.
Allende (23), a skilled midfielder who had previously had two stints with English Premiership powerhouses Arsenal, was a highly sought-after player worldwide.
Sundowns had to delve deep into their massive coffers and spend close to R51 million to acquire the services of the South American great.
Nonetheless, it was remarkable that Allende chose to relocate to Africa when a transfer from his native country to Europe was accessible.
The best team in Africa is Sundowns. I came here because I want to win trophies,” Allende, who has scored twice in five games, told the reporters on Thursday at Chloorkop.
Allende went on to describe his time at the Emirates Stadium in London and his goals at Sundowns, the treble-winning South African champions, now that he has joined them.
As much as I trained with Arsenal while I was there, I never actually played a single game with them, and that was a fact of my career, he explained.
“With the decision to come to this side, it is tough to distinguish between Arsenal and Sundowns, as the Premier League is known for its ferocity and speed.
“It helps me since we know that African athletes are among the world’s fastest and most gifted. Therefore, by being here, I can genuinely improve my game.”
Sundowns think that by bringing Allende to Chloorkop, he can provide the Brazilians with the missing spark to propel them to CAF Champions League glory this season.
Since Sundowns were named continental champions in 2016 under previous coach Pitso Mosimane, they have been unable to reach such heights again.
Since then, the team’s greatest result has been a semi-final loss in 2018/19 followed by three quarter-final losses, with last year’s shocking loss to Angolan side Petro Atletico being particularly galling.
Therefore, the club owned by the Motsepe family has left no stone unturned in their pursuit of their European goals, and have apparently not finished with the acquisition of Allende.
Left-back for Bafana Bafana and Cape Town City Terrence Mashego is poised to get a lucrative contract and return to his birthplace of Mamelodi.
The Citizens star has just recently returned from a lengthy injury, but has already flown to the nation’s capital to sign a four-year contract.
Mashego was omitted from Cape Town City’s Champions League preliminary first-round first leg match day roster against AS Otoho last week, and will not travel with the club to the Democratic Republic of the Congo for Sunday’s second leg in Brazzaville.
@ZaahierAdams