Mamelodi Sundowns’ midfield maestro, Nuno Santos, has opened up about the demands of playing for the reigning South African champions. Since arriving at Chloorkop in September 2025, the Portuguese playmaker has been a breath of fresh air, adapting to the local game with remarkable ease.
Santos hit the ground running, particularly on the continent. His CAF Champions League statistics are impressive, boasting eight goal involvements in just eight matches. Across all competitions, Santos has featured 22 times for the Brazilians, netting four goals and providing seven assists.
On Friday night at Loftus Versfeld, he was key in Sundowns’ commanding 3-0 victory over Stade Malien. The 27-year-old turned provider twice, delivering two sublime assists that have put Masandawana firmly in the driver’s seat heading into next week’s quarter-final second leg in Bamako, Mali.
Despite his offensive brilliance, the R20-million-rated attacker from Vitória Guimarães remains grounded. He admitted that while the attacking side of his game is thriving, he is still working to meet the high technical standards required at Sundowns for defensive output and off-ball work rate.
SANTOS: ‘I GIVE MY BEST DEFENSIVELY’
“I think in football, people want players who can do everything. They want players who can defend, assist, score, and win duels. We’re all different, especially in Sundowns – we have players that can defend, players that can pass, players that assist and score,” Santos said.
“I’m an offensive player, obviously, I’m not going to be the best defender in the world, but I give my best defensively every game, and I think I’m improving as well. It’s one of the aspects here in South Africa that is different from Europe.
“There’s a lot of duels and the pitch doesn’t help, and that makes the game have more duels than usual – but I’m an offensive player, I will always be, but I’m trying to improve that part as well [of my game].”
CARDOSO ON SANTOS
Meanwhile, Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso said Santos was a “player that needs to be put in the right emotional place in order to perform…”.
“But isn’t that the same with all of us? Aren’t we people that when we receive love, we also produce more?” said the Downs mentor.
“And I can state that for him, but starting from Ronwen [Williams] up until the players that play in the front. I think Nuno is receiving that love from everybody.
“Obviously, for him to adapt to the reality of South Africa, the reality of the football here, it was quite spontaneous, you know, that he started and he was immediately in the first match the man of the match.
“I’m pretty happy with Nuno as well as with the other boys today, I think they were all committed in terms of collective behaviours after 25 minutes.”
Sundowns travel to Mali for their reverse fixture on Sunday as they look to book a place in the semi-final. But before that, they must face Marumo Gallants in a Betway Premiership clash at Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Tuesday, 17 March. A win will take them to the top spot after their rivals, Orlando Pirates, dropped points in a 1-1 draw with Siwelele FC.
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