Mamelodi Sundowns chairman Tlhopie Motsepe has confirmed that the club’s hierarchy is set to table key contract discussions with head coach Miguel Cardoso, backed by a direct mandate from Masandawana supporters.
The Brazilians touched down at a rocking OR Tambo International Airport just after midnight on Tuesday morning, brandishing their second continental star after a gruelling 2-1 aggregate victory over Moroccan giants AS FAR.
While the Yellow Nation turned out in their thousands to celebrate the unprecedented milestone, the immediate focus has quickly shifted to what the future holds for the team’s tactical mastermind.
The scenes of adulation at the airport mark a staggering turnaround in the relationship between Cardoso and the Sundowns faithful. Earlier in the campaign, the very same supporters wanted the Portuguese tactician fired.
As the team uncharacteristically struggled in both the early stages of the CAF Champions League and the domestic front, frustrated fans routinely chanted the name of former coach Pitso Mosimane, who was heavily linked with a sensational return to Chloorkop.
While the pressure had already reached a breaking point during that turbulent period, things went from bad to worse domestically. Cardoso ultimately failed to defend the Betway Premiership title, entering the history books as the first Sundowns head coach in eight long years to miss out on the domestic league crown. Yet, by completely prioritising the continent and conquering Africa, Cardoso delivered the ultimate prizeโcapturing the elusive second star to silence his critics in spectacular fashion.
THE COACH MUST STAYโ: MOTSEPE REVEALS SUNDOWNS FANSโ DEMAND
Addressing the media following the vibrant airport homecoming celebrations, Motsepe revealed a fascinating interaction he had with the supporters while waiting for the players to land.
๐ง๐น๐ต๐ผ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ฒ ๐ ๐ผ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฎ๐ป๐ถ ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฒ ๐๐บ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ‘๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฎ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฌ๐ฒ๐น๐น๐ผ๐’ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ง๐ฎ๐บ๐ฏ๐ผ! ๐๐ฟ๐ฆ
Mamelodi Sundowns Chairman Tlhopie Motsepe has just arrived, and he’s joined by Bambanani Mbane!
They are out here embracing theโฆ pic.twitter.com/mt3YSQNlHN
โ FARPost (@FARPostZA) May 25, 2026
According to the chairman, the anger of the past season has evaporated, and the message from the Chloorkop faithful is now completely unanimous: ‘Cardoso must stay’.
โIt’s funny that the previous question was โdoes the coach think that the Sundowns have finally been won overโ.ย I came 40 minutes before the team arrived, and I spent some time with the supporters,” Motsepe revealed. “And I think, barring them asking about when the team is arriving, can we see the champions, can we see the trophy? Almost all of them asked, ‘Where’s the coach?’ And some of them even instructed ‘the coach must stay’. So ย maybe that’s an answer to the previous question in terms of how he has fared in terms of the affection of the Sundowns supporters.
MOTSEPE DROPS MASSIVE CONTRACT UPDATE
When Cardoso was initially brought to Chloorkop, the primary objective was to break the decade-long continental drought since their maiden 2016 triumph under Mosimane.
Having achieved that historic goal despite losing the domestic league, Motsepe believes the foundation is set for an even greater era of dominance. Crucially, the chairman confirmed that the upcoming contract negotiations are starting from an incredibly healthy position compared to when Cardoso first signed.
“When we brought the coach to the club, there was an objective, a goal that we wanted to achieve,” Motsepe added. “We wanted to make sure that the team could reach another level and achieve something very special, and we have done that.
“Now the question going forward is, can we do it more? Can we do even better? Can we continue to write this very special story that we’ve written so far this season? I believe that’s where the club is heading right nowโin a positive direction in terms of we have the ability to build.”
“We will obviously go into the next few months now and have discussions, but definitely, the discussions are already in a very much more positive position than when we had discussions before the coach even joined,” declared Motsepe. “I think that’s as far as I should say for now, out of respect to the coach and, of course, to the discussions that we’re going to have.”
RELATED STORY:ย What Themba Zwane really wants: Sundowns captain speaks out on his future
