Mamelodi Sundowns defender Zuko Mdunyelwa has revealed how his former chairman Siviwe ‘Chippa’ Mpengesi told him about the move to the Brazilians.
The 25-year-old was an integral part of the Chilli Boys for two-and-a-half seasons and was rumoured to have attracted interest from Stellenbosch FC. Nothing materialized, and he instead went on to make a big money move to the current DStv Premiership champions on a long-term deal in December 2023.
Mdunyelwa revealed to iDiski Times senior writer Velile Mnyandu in edition 162 of the newspaper how Mpengesi’s call turned into good news after he thought he was in trouble after being shown a red card during a recent game at the time. The former YSD Macassar academy added that he was pleasantly surprised to receive a cheerful voice with congratulations for securing a move to the capital city.
“It was over a call,” Mdunyelwa told iDiski Times.
“I was at home, and it actually happened during a bizarre week for me when I received a red card in the game against Sekhukhune [United]. So, for me, it felt like I let the team down because we lost that game after the red card. Maybe if we hadn’t gotten the red card, it would have been a different outcome. So, I was still feeling bad that I let the team down.
“When I got the call from the chairman in my mind, I thought here we go because of what happened (chuckles). But when I picked up the first thing was his tone and the energy. I could tell that this was not about the red card. He was busy congratulating me and I didn’t know what for and then he told me that a big team had come knocking for me and he cannot turn down the offer. So, he needs to be in contact with my agent so that they can discuss a way forward. At that time, it didn’t register.”
Mdunyelwa said the news of his Sundowns move only sunk in after he put pen-to-paper and that it was difficult waiting for everything to be concluded as he realised, he was desperate for the move.
“He did tell me. He told me, but I’m not a person who knows a lot about the industry, so I couldn’t be sure until it’s sealed, done, and dusted. He asked me to keep it to myself, and I did that,” added the former Cape Town City man.
“But I started having sleepless nights. I thought a lot that if this is meant to happen, it must really happen because if it doesn’t, it might just kill my confidence because everyone wants to go to this team that wants me.
“I thought if it happened that they got someone else for the position, then I wasn’t going to go to the club, and I’d have to wait another season or one year. I was praying very hard that it would happen now because there was never going to be a perfect time so it had to happen in that window.”
