Cardoso says Saleng matter now belongs to Sundowns management

Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso has provided further details about Monnapule Saleng’s disciplinary problems, saying the matter is now for the club to handle. Saleng failed to report for two important team commitments: the CAF Champions League final second leg and Sundowns’ pre-season tour in Austria.

Cardoso had earlier confirmed that Saleng was no longer training with the senior team. The coach was asked on Thursday whether the player could return to the group before Sundowns’ MTN8 semi-final against Lamontville Golden Arrows.

He said the issue was not a coaching dispute and that Sundowns had repeatedly tried to help Saleng reconnect with the squad. Those efforts included encouraging him to become part of the team’s daily environment, supporting his stability and making him feel valued within the group.

Cardoso said the player’s conduct had continued to create difficulties. He referred to occasions when Saleng arrived late, left early or failed to appear when the team was due to travel, including an instance in which the squad waited for him at the bus after he had trained normally during the week.

The coach also said Sundowns’ dressing-room standards were understood by the players and applied to their relationships with teammates, coaches and the club. In his view, repeated breaches made it difficult to know whether the team could rely on the player.

Cardoso recalled going as far as joining Saleng in a dance inside the team circle as part of the attempts to draw him into the group. He said those efforts could only work if Saleng also wanted to participate in the team’s culture and responsibilities.

With the situation now classified as a club matter, Cardoso indicated that any decision on Saleng’s next step rests with Sundowns management rather than the coaching staff. The player’s absence from senior-team training follows the disciplinary issues that the club has yet to resolve.