Miguel Cardoso lifts lid on uncertain futures of key players | OneFootball

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Cardoso opens up on uncertain futures of key players

Photo: AFP

Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso has opened up on the uncertain futures of several key players at Chloorkop, including talisman Lucas Ribeiro Costa and highly rated defender Khuliso Mudau.

The duo is yet to feature in any official match for the reigning Betway Premiership champions in the 2025/26 PSL season. The Brazilian has attracted interest from Qatar, Turkey, and Brazil, while the Bafana international is subject to interest in the gulf region.

While Sundowns claimed their first league win with a 2-0 victory over AmaZulu, the Downs mentor made an honest admission that he would have preferred to commence the new campaign with his key players’ futures having been solved.

“Of course, I would like that it’s done as quick as possible, I would have liked it even if it could have been handled even before the started, but it’s not like that because things happened after, so we are just dealing with the situation in the best way,” said Cardoso after the match.

“The club is very professional and also very capable to solve the issues we have at hand. The club is not on sales, so we know very well where we want to go. I just need to keep working with the team, I will always give my best with whatever players I have.

“The players that are inside the locker room will always fight for the shirt and the badge on their chest and that’s what we are going to do, and I believe that’s the correct way to handle [the matter].

Cardoso went on to acknowledge that the Tshwane giants are a victim of their own success from the FIFA Club World Cup. However, the Portuguese mentor warned that Masandawana are not on a clearance sale.

“Of course, in a club like Sundowns that exposes the players at the highest level of international football, in the Club World Cup, and did well, it’s normal that things [interest in players] will appear,” he added.

“But we cannot also allow those things to happen in a way that they should not, we are not for sales as I said, and people can’t not respect the value we have inside because we have value, of course.