The five Latin Americans who completed the season as Mamelodi Sundowns’ foreigners will not be staying on at the club in that order next season.
Sundowns have had Arthur Sales and Lucas Ribeiro Costa (both Brazil), Matias Esquivel and Lucas Suarez (both Argentina), and Marcelo Allende (Chile) taking up all foreign spaces at the club at the close of the 2024/25 season.
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Ribeiro and Allende have excelled, while Sales showed encouraging signs in the second half of the season.
It has not been so positive for Suarez and Esquivel, who have been excluded from the FIFA Club World Cup squad already in USA for the tournament.
Suarez has been on loan in an agreement meant to keep him at Chloorkop until the end of the year.
Unfortunately, it appears he is not keen to stay on for the rest of the year.
Reports in Argentina have indicated that the 30-year-old wants a return to Talleres, where he has a new coach in Diego Cocca and a contract until December 2026.
Suarez played just once in Sundowns’ last 10 games.
The Torneo Clausura, which is due to run from July 17 until December 14, will be of interest to him.
The bigger challenge is around Esquivel, who only played thrice since his return on loan at Talleres, where he spent five months.
The 26-year-old initially joined Sundowns from another Argentine club, Atletico Lanus, at the beginning of last year in a big-money transfer.
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During his first stint at Chloorkop, he scored twice in 13 appearances before going back home on loan.
With a running contract and the huge amount spent in bringing him to South Africa, the process of offloading him is under discussion.
What is without doubt is the fact that Esquivel has not worked out for Sundowns.
