Highly-rated midfielder Bongani Zungu has explained why he snubbed overseas teams to return home to rejoin Mamelodi Sundowns.
Zungu insists that he didn’t fail in Europe after stints in France, Portugal and Scotland.
The Sundowns midfield maestro, Zungu, spent over five years in Europe, where he played in the UEFA Europa League and won the Scottish League title with Scottish giants Rangers.
In Europe, Zungu also turned out Vitoria Guimaraes in Portugal’s topflight and Amiens SC in the French Ligue 1 before sealing a return to Sundowns in August.
And despite receiving several offers abroad, Zungu said he opted to pen a deal with Sundowns due to ‘personal reasons’, which ultimately forced him to return to SA.
WHY ZUNGU RETURNED TO SA
“Nothing went wrong; I made a decision with my family to come back to South Africa; I decided to come back for personal reasons,” Zungu told the media at the Carling Black Label World Cup event in Sandton.
“I don’t have regrets about my career; in life, we go through ups and downs, and that’s what happened with me; I’m not the last person that is going to face [challenges].
“But me coming back doesn’t mean there was something wrong or I failed; people can say whatever,” added Zungu.
The 30-year-old midfielder reiterated that he is happy with what he achieved in Europe, brushing off suggestions that he failed to make an impact overseas.
He says his focus and goal is to help Sundowns win the CAF Champions League, which has eluded the Tshwane giants since 2016 when they were crowned African champions for the first time.
“I am happy. I came from nothing and worked very hard to play in Europe, and I came back because of personal reasons, that’s all,” he insisted.
“There is no failure, my family is proud of me, and I’m proud of myself, and now I’m at Sundowns, and I have to try to help the team to reach even better heights.
“My return had nothing to do with football, just personal, it is life and family, and unfortunately, I can’t tell you those reasons.
“I’m looking forward to playing, more especially in the [CAF] Champions League,” added Zungu, who has only played five matches in all competitions this season for Sundowns.
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