Mamelodi Sundowns co-coach Rulani Mokwena has showered departing defender Ricardo Nascimento with praise after the 35-year-old confirmed his departure from the club on Monday.

The Brazilian defender’s fruitful five-and-a-half-year affiliation with the reigning DStv Premiership champions officially ended on Monday as he revealed his departure on Twitter.

Nascimento was a vital cog in the Downs team which has dominated South African football over the past five years, amassing 144 appearances during his time with Masandawana and winning four league crowns and a host of other silverware.

Despite the club not officially confirming his departure, co-coach Mokwena issued a farewell following Omnday’s 2-0 win over Chippa United.

“I’m sure the club will officially release a statement and I think that is only fair and proper,” Mokwena said.

“The reality is, when a loyal servant like Ricardo has served you with such distinction, it is only proper that you deal with his departure with the best possible dignity and respect in recognition of his profile and contribution.

“He’s been nothing but a loyal servant. His performances on the pitch speak only about a player who was always willing to do more than was required of him.

“The qualities that he possessed will be very, very difficult to replicate or replace, so we’ve got our work cut out as a club to make sure that we get a player of the same sort of technical and tactical qualities, if not better.

“That shows and speaks about his qualities as a football player, but over and above that, I always say that good football players are only good if they are good human beings.

“I don’t have one bad word to say about Ricardo Nascimento and I don’t think anybody at the club has a single bad word to say. A gentle giant. A humble soul. Someone who is always wearing a smile on his face, always prepared to do more than required.

“Shows huge determination and perseverance. He had two very big surgeries and those did not stop him from being able to recover and serve this club.

“When you have that type of mentality, because you have the right human qualities, it helps you to become a very good footballer.”

Mokwena also revealed that Nascimento had been offered the chance to join Sundowns in a non-playing capacity but that the imposing centre back was not yet ready to hang up his boots entirely.

“He will always remain a part of our family. He knows and the club has already extended a plan for him to stay and continue in a different capacity, but his feeling is that he’s still got one or two more seasons to play, be it locally or back in his native country in Brazil.

“But that’s for him and the club to make those announcements in due course, ours is just to thank him for his humble contribution to the success of this club and for the years he has been here.”