Mudau: Sundowns’ spending has raised the PSL transfer bar

Former Mamelodi Sundowns centre-back Johannes “Bricks” Mudau says the club’s financial strength has made it increasingly difficult for other Premier Soccer League clubs to compete for players in the transfer market.

Mudau, who also represented Kaizer Chiefs, believes Sundowns’ ability to sign the players they want has forced rivals – particularly Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates – to compete with resources they do not possess.

“I think Sundowns they’ve set a trend where they get anyone they want, at any price, and it becomes difficult for the other teams because they don’t have bigger pockets like Sundowns,” Mudau told KickOff.

His comments followed revelations by TS Galaxy FC chairman Tim Sukazi about an approach from Kaizer Chiefs for Seluleko Mahlambi.

Sukazi said in a radio interview that he rejected a R4 million offer from Kaizer Chiefs for the player and instead demanded R10 million.

The valuation drew further attention to the financial pressures facing clubs attempting to recruit established or promising players within the PSL.

Mudau said Sundowns’ spending power was affecting the ability of players to secure moves to bigger clubs, as selling teams could demand substantially higher fees.

“This makes things not easy for the boys to get a chance to leave their current clubs and go play somewhere bigger. Sundowns has raised the bar pertaining the movement of players,” he said.

Mudau questions depth of Sundowns squad

Mudau also argued that Sundowns’ dominance was strengthened by the size of their squad. In his view, the club’s recruitment of leading players can leave them competing for places rather than regularly featuring in the starting line-up.

“What I’ve realised is that, for Sundowns to dominate the league, any good player they take him and put him on the bench. They can play two, three games and end up not playing at all,” Mudau said.

He compared the current situation with his own time at the club, claiming Sundowns had 77 players capable of starting for any PSL team.

“How many first team players are there at Sundowns at the moment? When I was there they had 77 who can start at any day in any team in the PSL. It frustrates,” he added.

Mudau’s assessment places the focus not only on Sundowns’ success on the pitch, but also on the impact of their transfer-market strength on the rest of the league. While other clubs continue to pursue players, they must do so against a financial benchmark set by the reigning power in the competition.