How do you buy a player without a price?: Mosimane slams Sundowns over Sirino

Pitso Mosimane has criticised Mamelodi Sundowns for the way it has handled a transfer request by Gastón Sirino. The Uruguayan midfielder is yet to feature for the Brazilians this season.

Sirino, 32, is with Sundowns until June 2025, after the club extended the contract he signed in 2020 when Mosimane was head coach at the Pretoria club. 

Mosimane suggested Sundowns has motivations other than money for keeping Sirino, which the Patrice Motsepe-owned club is far from short of.

Speaking in Orlando, Soweto, where he was handing over a sports facility to Lofentse Girls' High School, Mosimane said if Sundowns was keen to sell Sirino it would have long ago given him the freedom to move to a club of his choice.

“I don't want to talk about Gaston Sirino because this annoys me so much,” Mosimane said when asked about the player and whether the now coach of United Arab Emirates Pro League side Al Wahda is seeking the Uruguayan's signature.

“If we want him we'll talk to Mamelodi Sundowns. And also, is Sundowns prepared to sell Sirino? I don't know. Sundowns don't need money to sell Sirino.

“Sometimes those things are a lost cause. When I was at Al Ahly [between 2020 and 2022] I wanted Sirino and you know what happened. We approached them [Sundowns], but we never got the price. You never get the price.

“If the player doesn't have the price you can't buy him. [With Kylian] Mbappe, you know there's [a price of] $200m [about R3.8bn], but Sirino doesn't have a price, and how do you buy a player without a price?

“Where do you start, because I don't want to go into the same set-up [as I did] when I advised Al Ahly that they should get Sirino?

“And we [Ahly] approached Sundowns straight through the office and he didn't have a price. He still doesn't have a price. So we don't buy a player who doesn't have a price and there's no negotiation.

“It's wrong what they [some reports] are saying — it's lies in fact. It's allegations ... that Al Wahda wants Sirino and people are tapping Sirino.

“No, remember they said we want [Thembinkosi] Lorch — everybody says that. Everybody says we want [Peter] Shalulile. I'm always in the middle of all these things and if we want them we'll approach the team, OK.”

Mosimane insisted he would not advise his employers to make an offer for Sirino unless Sundowns is willing to put up a price for the player.

“If there's no price, it's a waste of time and I will never advise the club to go for players who don't have a price and [engage in] transactions that can be very emotional, and it's mixed up with a lot of things and it's not done the right way. 

“If we know he's available then I will advise my office to say 'OK, let's speak to him.' We know he's not playing and he's disgruntled, and probably they don't want him because he's dropped out of the team. But it's not for me to use that opportunity.

“Anyway, he hasn't been playing since last season.

“So is Sundowns selling? I don't know.”