Emotional Mabunda leaves Sundowns: ‘I was always the No 1 supporter of the club’

17 August 2021 - 15:35 By mahlatse mphahlele
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Mamelodi Sundowns have confirmed Tiyani Mabunda is leaving the club after eight seasons at Chloorkop.
Mamelodi Sundowns have confirmed Tiyani Mabunda is leaving the club after eight seasons at Chloorkop.
Image: ©Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix

Former Bafana Bafana defensive midfielder Tiyani “Shuga” Mabunda has left Mamelodi Sundowns.

Mabunda leaves Sundowns after spending eight years at serial league winners Chloorkop, where he lifted the league championship five times and listed the Caf Champions League and the Super League among his achievements.

The 33-year-old’s contract with the club expired at the end of June. He joined Sundowns in 2013 from Black Leopards and went on to establish himself as one of the key players for former coach Pitso Mosimane.

“My story is one of the unique stories told in this country because when I came to this club nobody really knew about me,” he said in an emotional video posted on the club’s social media platforms.

“I have been through any kind of up and down you can think of. If you think about a bad time, look at my story and if you think of a good time, look at my story. It was a really special journey I walked with the club through thick and thin.

“The club has always been in support of me and my career and I also had to give my all regardless of whether I was on the field of play or not. I was always the No 1 supporter of the club.”

Mabunda, who achieved some sort of cult status for the club because of his commitment and continuous engagement with supporters, said it is difficult to say goodbye.

“It is a very emotional time for me to be here at the training ground. This place will always be in my heart. I have fulfilled almost everything a footballer would have wanted to achieve and those things were started and initiated on this training field.

“It has been a wonderful and exciting journey. It is not easy to be in this position but it was worth it to be on this training ground. I feel the time has come to move to another phase of my life or assignment.

“It is not easy to say goodbye to a club that has given me so much and put me on the platform I am on now. Everything good does have an end.”


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