Kaizer Chiefs were linked with the signing of Tashreeq Matthews, before Mamelodi Sundowns put their money where their mouth is. Owner Patrice Motsepe has not hid what gives them the advantage.
Chiefs reportedly showed serious interest to sign Matthews from his Swedish outfit IK Sirius during the course of last season after the 23-year-old topped the scoring charts in the Allsvenskan.
However, during the off-season, Sundowns did not waste time to acquire Matthews as one of their marquee signings, that included Matias Esquivel and Thembinkosi Lorch.
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What could have given Sundowns the advantage over Chiefs is that their participation in the African Football League has enhanced the financial incentives the players are set to get, in addition to the CAF Champions League ambitions and already big financial backing from billionaire owner Dr. Patrice Motsepe.
Dr. Motsepe, President of CAF, recalled how when he was the President of Sundowns they used to see the highest-paid players in Scandinavian countries and realized they can pay more than what the biggest earners get in those European leagues.
Motsepe, on his visit to Angola President João Lourenço, was answering a question on how the introduction of the AFL helps develop football in Africa.
The mining magnate suggested that the more clubs can pay their players well, the more the best talent can remain on the continent, as the AFL has added a new revenue stream to clubs.
"So you are 100% right, what we have to do is to show the players, we can pay them very well and compete with some of the European countries, there are some that will get big, big money in the big leagues, which is beautiful because we want them to make as much money as possible," Motsepe told the media in Angola.
"But I can assure you that 60% to 80% of the players who play outside Africa, we can compete with what they are paid in the Scandinavian countries, we used to see how much the highest-paid players get in Denmark.
"We used to see the highest-paid players in Norway, in Finland, Sweden, and many other countries, we can compete and pay our African players more than what they get in those countries," Motsepe added.
By winning the AFL, Sundowns bagged $4 million (+- R75 milion) and are chasing the same prize money if they win the CAF Champions League.
Currently the Brazilians are guaranteed $1.2 million (+- R22.5 million) for reaching the CAF Champions League semi-finals and that money would go up to $2 million (+-R37,5 million for reaching the final.
Sundowns players reportedly share at least 80% of the total money they club have won in all competitions at the end of the season while there are also performance bonuses.
Masandawana are almost guaranteed R15 million for winning the DStv Premiership and are still in the running for the Nedbank Cup, which has a prize money of R7 million.
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