Mamelodi Sundowns latest: Mngqithi reveals ‘CLOSE’ Diaz, Vinicius deals

Mamelodi Sundowns co-coach Manqoba Mngqithi has revealed how CLOSE they were to signing Liverpool and Real Madrid stars.

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According to Mngqithi, Sundowns had sights set on Liverpool new signing Luis Diaz and Real Madrid attacker Junior Vinicius.

However, their delay in securing the duo’s services cost them dearly, and as Diaz then joined Porto before moving Liverpool while Vinicius was snapped up by Real Madrid.

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Mngqithi said Sundowns spotted Vinicius at the Brazilian Cup in Brazil, but a few days later, Real Madrid signed the speedy attacker.

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“We’ve lost the chance to sign many other players, one of them signed for Liverpool now, can you believe it? We should have signed him before he joined Porto,” Mngqithi told reporters at the Nedbank Cup launch.

“We were on top of Diaz. Unfortunately, we delayed one or two days, and he signed for Porto. We’ve looked at a lot of players. I don’t want to lie to you.

“Even Vinicius was on our list of players that we should have signed, and he was not even at Real Madrid,” revealed Mngqithi.

“We saw him in the Brazilian Cup, and we were trying to chase him. We slacked a little, and the following day he was signed by Real Madrid,” he concluded.

Sundowns are renowned for their ability to spot talent in South America, and they have had some exciting players from that part of the world.

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The latest South American player to join Sundowns is Mario Saavedra who arrived in January while Pavol Safranko arrived at the start of the season.