Cape Town – Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane says his club will not be bullied into selling Percy Tau to a European club for a bargain price.
The 23-year-old Tau, a league and Champions League winner and a Bafana Bafana regular, is tipped by many to win the PSL Player of the Season award.
Mosimane has spoken previously of his willingness to let the player leave the Brazilians, but only to one of the bigger leagues in Europe.
But those overseas-based teams hunting for a bargain in Africa will not be tolerated, says the former Bafana Bafana coach.
As he explained to the SowetanLIVE website, Sundowns have made a significant investment in Tau, including a good pay package, and want to get something back for the time and money they have put in.
"With players from other countries in Africa‚ it is easier for them to move overseas because they don't earn big salaries," Mosimane said.
"But in our case‚ we have made a substantial investment in Percy and we want a return on our investment. It was the same with Keegan Dolly. We gave him (Dolly) game time‚ training‚ contracts and all those things.
"Sometimes it doesn't balance properly with the amount of money that the big European clubs want to pay for South African players," he continued.
"In South Africa we pay more in terms salaries and those things bring a lot of challenges when players are supposed to go.
"When European teams goes to Tunisia and Egypt‚ they know that they have to pay the right amount of money. South Africa is at that level and we are one of the biggest countries in Africa.
"Anything is possible‚ he can leave anytime. I have said that if it's one of the top five leagues in Europe like La Liga‚ Bundesliga‚ EPL‚ Serie A or Ligue 1. Why would you hold on to him? That would not be fair."
