Mamelodi Sundowns CEO Sizwe Nzimande has clarified the club’s stance on forward Leonardo Castro’s issues.
The Sundowns’ chief has explained that the club has activated an option to extend the player’s contract having seen the star’s initial one-year deal expire at the end of June.
‘He [Castro] is still under contract as we [Sundowns] have extended it. This is not a contractual issue,’ Nzimande told KickOff.
‘It is more a case of trying to find a way of how he can bring his family over to South Africa and accommodate him to be here with his family in a way that works for him. It is not a contractual scenario because he is in contract.’
The player, who netted 14 times as Sundowns swept to the Premiership title and lifted the Telkom Knockout, is eager for his family to join him. The player is now back in training having recently visited in his home country.
‘Castro, as you may know, has a wife and a new-born baby, who is probably now three months, and they are in Colombia,’ Nzimande continued.
‘It is a difficult situation to have a child when you are up to 12 000 kilometres away from home.’
The CEO is confident an arrangement will be made to bring the player’s family over to South Africa.
‘What is very nice is that both parties want to try and find a solution that works for Castro because he is an integral part of the team after he did very well for us last season.
‘He is very quickly becoming a true yellow son of Mamelodi Sundowns,’ Nzimande concluded.
