Basia Michaels, the agent of Khanyisa Mayo, has revealed how close Kaizer Chiefs came to signing the former Cape Town City forward.
Mayo, 25, joined Algerian giants CR Belouizdad in a blockbuster deal and was unveiled by the club last week.
But there was also talk of local interest, with Mamelodi Sundowns and Kaizer Chiefs being linked with the 2022/23 golden boot winner.
However, Michaels revealed that Sundowns interest came before Mayo signed a new five-year deal with Cape Town City last season, while Chiefs were hot on his tails this window.
Michaels also confirmed that Mayo himself was keen on joining Amakhosi but it seems the club’s management took too long to make up their minds, while Belouizdad also offers the forward Mayo a route to Europe.
“Chiefs had also put down a significant offer for Khanyisa, a few moments before we had actually penned our deal with CRB,” Mayo’s agent said on Sports Night Amplified.
“I do think had the deal fallen out with CRB, Khanyisa would’ve gone to Chiefs.”
Michaels admitted that Mayo would’ve been keen to move to Naturena based on his personal connection to the club his father Patrick Mayo played for, but ultimately he was also keen on plying his trade outside of Mzansi.
“He wanted what we would call the best outcome for himself,” she continued.
“It wasn’t a money-thing, Khanyisa wanted to go to Chiefs, there is no question about it. His father played for Chiefs, it has a bit of heritage for him.
“But he always wanted to leave South Africa. It’s something that he’d always expressed to me, I’ve been representing him since 2018.”
When quizzed whether Chiefs fell short in their valuation of the player, Michaels confirmed that Amakhosi’s offer came too late, and the player and his representatives feel a move to Europe will be more realistic after a good season in Algeria.
“I think Chiefs fell short because they were seconds too late from the offer that was made from CRB,” she added.
“From CRB, Khanyisa does have an opportunity to move into Europe. It would be a lot harder for him to move from Chiefs to Europe.
“If he does something amazing at CRB within in his first season, I can tell you there will be suitors from the European market that will come knocking for him.”
