After failing to win the CAF Champions League and Nedbank Cup, there were suggestions that Mamelodi Sundowns have underachieved, considering the investment the club has made. Head coach Rulani Mokwena has responded to the monetary detractors.
Although Sundowns bagged the inaugural African Football League, winning only one domestic trophy - the DStv Premiership - has somewhat been viewed as an underachievement for a club of such lofty standards.
The Brazilians have always been carrying the burden of having to win convincingly given the big amounts they spend, where even opposition coaches feel a sense of achievement when they deny them victory.
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TS Galaxy head coach Sead Ramovic felt proud for getting a draw against Sundowns at the tail-end of last season, arguing they should be doing better having spent over R200 million on player recruitment.
"We don't have the financial power like them to spend over R200 million and to be outclassed like this, because I think the whole game... and this is unbelievable, beautiful, credit to my players," Ramovic said post match on SuperSport TV.
"If they want to beat us again, maybe they should buy [Kylian] Mbappe, [Cristiano] Ronaldo and [Lionel] Messi, maybe then he has a bigger chance. If not, then he has to take the highest education because this is what he doesn't have."
Mokwena has suggested that people who judge Sundowns based purely on what they spend are missing the point, as he responded to critics who feel the club has underachieved.
"We are a league that does not divulge figures. I hear a lot of my colleagues saying Sundowns has spent so much, so much and they've concluded. I'm the head coach of the club and yet I don't even know how much the club has spent," Mokwena said on PowerFM.
"And yet there are coaches who feel that they know how much the club has spent, so that's why I say we have to be factual. You cannot tell me we spend more than others, because we don't have the facts to discuss that.
"Do you think Bayer Leverkusen spent anything close to Bayern Munich? But Bayern Munich did not win nothing. I refuse to allow, because I know the amount of investment and it's not just from a monetary perspective, and this is what sometimes people fail to understand.
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"I was counting the other day, for every match played, the preparation hours is about 20 hours per match. So, people don't understand. With the volume of matches, increase in expectations, it becomes difficult," he added.
Sundowns competed in an unprecedented six competitions last season.