Head coach Rulani Mokwena has issued a surprise update on the future of midfielder Abubeker Nasir and opened up on the shock exit of Bongani Zungu.
Nasir joined Sundowns at the start of the 2023/24 season and, despite being limited by injuries, contributed a decent four goals from his 14 appearances.
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Most expected the Ethiopian to enjoy more game-tie in his second season, but things went from bad to worse.
The 24-year-old missed a large part of the season due to injury a =nd when he returned to action, it was short-lived as he suffered what Mokwena described as a 'career-threatening' injury.
#TeamEthiopia's Abubeker Nassir scores a magnificent goal for his new club @Masandawana
— EthioTube (@EthioTube) August 13, 2022
(Courtesy of SABC) pic.twitter.com/Z0hPkoAVLg
Speaking on PowerFM on Friday, the tactician confirmed that the Ethiopian was no longer registered as a Sundowns player.
"He's not a Sundowns player, so I don't want to talk about Abubeker Nasir because he's not a Sundowns player," he said when asked about the player's status at Chloorkop.
"He's not registered as a Sundowns player."
The bombshell comes just a week after midfielder Zungu announced his exit via his social media platforms. The experienced midfielder lasted two seasons on his return to Sundowns at the start of2022/23.
Mokwena added that the decision had not been made by him and he would have preferred to keep the 31-year-old.
"When contracts come to an end, it's quite complicated because it's the agent, it's the player and it's the club. I don't get involved in that space.
"That space is more for the Sporting Director and the Football Club.
"Of course [I would have loved to keep Zungu], like I would have loved to keep Cassius [Mailula] and I would have loved to keep Haashim Domingo. Sometimes in life, you don't get what you want and that's the reality of the situation and in football, it's even worse because you've got to move on. After 24 hours, you have to move on to the most important thing.
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"My love for any player at Sundowns doesn't override my love for the football club and doing what's right for the football club and I said, even in that sense, that is far more important than anything else."