‘I was sold to Mamelodi Sundowns but joined Kaizer Chiefs instead’

‘I was sold to Mamelodi Sundowns but joined Kaizer Chiefs instead’

Former Kaizer Chiefs defender Valery Nahayo has relived how he almost joined Mamelodi Sundowns instead

Chiefs used to be the most desirable teams to join in the country, but Sundowns is slowly taking over.

In a transition that seems to be filtering down from the top, Sundowns are starting to beat Chiefs to top talent. This includes the best of the best in terms of senior players, as well as junior players. But back in their hay day their professionalism, state of the art Naturena facilities and trophy winning streak used to do all the talking. One player that was gripped by all of this was Nahayo.

The Burundi international had arrived in South Africa to sign for Jomo Cosmos in 2004. He would spend four solid years at Ezinkosi, that would put him in the shop Window for the country’s big three. In the 2008/09 transfer window, Nahayo would end up signing for Chiefs, but he could’ve easily ended up at rivals, Sundowns.

Cosmos and Sundowns had agreed a deal

“Before I went to Chiefs, I went to Sundowns. I was sent there by Jomo to go and negotiate my contract and it was my first time to be at that complex with yellow walls next to Midrand. Jomo wanted me to go to Sundowns. I listened to Jomo and then went to Chloorkop to negotiate my contract when Jomo said I should do so. So, I met Trott Moloto and Daniel Mudau at their offices and we spoke at length. My heart was not even at Sundowns even though I went there to hear what they had to say and see what was happening.” Said Nahayo to KickOff.com .

Nahayo would further illustrate what drove him to Chiefs, from Sundowns.

Nahayo was not convinced

“I never had any feeling for Sundowns despite their interest in me. I went inside the high walls at Chloorkop, but I can tell you that I didn’t have any bit of excitement about getting there. Worse was that with people that I met there, they were like: ‘Take it or leave it’. I was told that if I want, I can take it or otherwise you can leave it.For me, I didn’t feel welcome at all.”.

For Nahayo, that sealed a deal away from Sundowns as Chiefs entered the fray.

Ended up signing for Chiefs instead

“What had happened was that the night before I went to Sundowns the next morning, I had a meeting with Bobby (Motaung) in Sandton. Bobby made me feel wanted because he even spoke about my family before the contract and flights back home. It was end of May and I was due to leave for the national team but didn’t want to do so without knowing where I will be playing when I come back. Chiefs gave me the proposal to take home to my wife and the next morning I had to meet Sundowns. So, when I went to Sundowns, they gave me a proposal way too low compared to Chiefs and there was nothing professional about their conduct.” Nahayo continued.

Nahayo then had a difficult chat with club owner Jomo Sono.

“The following day, I signed a contract with Chiefs before Jomo even knew that I had turned down Sundowns. Jomo wanted me to sign for Sundowns, but I told Jomo that I want Chiefs. I didn’t know what issues there were between Jomo and Chiefs. In the end, he negotiated a deal that had a clause of 50% for him if I moved on. Which he got when I moved to Belgium,” recalled Nahayo.

Nahayo would spend three years at Chiefs, winning three trophies. He would then move to Belgium in 2011.