Two Things Did It: The Inside story of how Sundowns won the race for Santos

Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso has disclosed the details of how the club successfully secured the signing of Portuguese midfielder Nuno Santos.

The highly-rated midfielder from Portugal joined from Vitória de Guimarães in the last days of the recent transfer window.

Cardoso explained that Masandawana secured the deal by seizing an opportunity as Guimarães was under pressure to manage club finances and needed to sell players to generate revenue.

The player was impressed by the Tshwane giants' run in the FIFA Club World Cup, which significantly influenced his decision. The coach's Portuguese nationality also played a part in making the move more appealing.

‘SUNDOWNS SEDUCED HIM’

“I think his club wanted to release some players and make money in order to manage the organisation,” said Cardoso.

“That is clear, Nuno wanted challenges abroad that provide him different opportunities.

“Obviously, the name of Sundowns seduced him after the Club World Cup we had and also the fact that I’m the Portuguese coach.”

He added, “People must understand that these kinds of players are not easy to bring here.

“It’s the end of the market opportunities, let’s say. And because we were able to wait, even though we were not waiting for them, last minute these opportunities appeared.

“I think we are privileged to have brought them. We hope they can impact the team as we expect and also the ones that have been here continue to do so.”