By his own admission, Dario Monteiro was surprised that Mamelodi Sundowns were able to offer him an improved contract to what he was on through most of his time in Europe when he was signed in July 2008.
Monteiro had spent most of the 10 years prior to his arrival at Sundowns playing in Portugal after making the switch from back home in Mozambique.
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His arrival at Sundowns in July 2008 came at the time when the club also had Collins Mbesuma, Sibusiso Zuma, and Benedict Vilakazi in the list of those that were coming in from Europe.
While he wasn't a headline attracting signing, Monteiro's signing had its fair share of drama.
"My move to Sundowns came at the recommendation of the late Mozambican agent Sergio Simao," discloses Monteiro talking to KickOff.com from Maputo.
"He told me upfront that 'Dario, don't fool yourself by thinking of staying in Europe at your age when there is South Africa'.
"I was approaching 32 at the time and thinking of getting another club in Europe where it would be like they are doing me a favour considering my age at the time.
"Sergio then declared that with my quality he can find me a club in South Africa where I will be closer to home, earn good money, and be able to stay with my family who I had not been with for most of my time abroad.
"My issue with Sergio was that he said this team that he will get me wants me to come for a trial of some sort and I had an issue with that.
"I felt offended that after spending so much time abroad and having been an international, a team from Africa was asking that I come for trials as if I'm an amateur.
"So, I told Sergio that I'm not coming but he begged me insisting that they just want to assess my fitness because they were suspecting that with my qualities, I might be carrying an injury.
"It was a lot of back and forth with Sergio but then I eventually agreed and came for five days with Trott Moloto the coach at the time.
"After those five days, they asked the boys about me, and everyone agreed that I should be signed," details Monteiro.
Monteiro scored four goals in 9 starts during the 2008/09 season at Sundowns before switching over to SuperSport where his contribution was six goals in 5 starts before injury struck.
The Mozambican won the league with Matsatsantsa where he played another 18 games from the bench.
"The contract at Sundowns was better than what I was getting at my previous club in Cyprus but not as good as what I got at Al-Jazira in the UAE where I played four years earlier getting the best money of my career.
"I was surprised about the money at Sundowns because I didn't know that a club closer to home can pay so well.
"It all started well at Sundowns but Sergio then messed up everything with the club by asking for more money without my consent.
"That guy just became an irritation at the club doing a lot of nonsensical things behind my back which then spoiled my stay forcing me to then leave at the end of that first season though I had a two-year deal.
"He just made it ugly, and, in the end, I went to SuperSport.
"Sergio was a greedy agent who was surprised at how I got to fit into the team at Sundowns and while I was getting less money than Zuma, Mbesuma, Mphela and all these other guys, I was still happy because I was earning more than what I was getting in Europe.
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"I never said Sergio should harass the president (Patrice Motsepe) for money, but he did so and in the end, it turned sour with the coach telling me my manager knows why there are problems.
"So, I can attest to that agents can help but can also destroy a career," says Monteiro.