Monnapule Saleng’s move from Orlando Pirates to Mamelodi Sundowns was supposed to mark the beginning of a new chapter for one of South Africa’s most gifted attacking players.
Instead, the 28-year-old winger once again finds himself away from the first team, with his immediate future at Chloorkop uncertain and questions growing about the personal difficulties that have followed him from his turbulent final months at Pirates.
Saleng joined Sundowns in January 2026 after spending part of the previous season on loan at Orbit College.
The move was viewed as an opportunity for the former Bafana Bafana international to rebuild his career after a prolonged period on the sidelines at Pirates.
But that fresh start has now run into another major obstacle.
Cardoso confirms Saleng is out of the first team
Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso recently confirmed that Saleng is no longer training with the senior team after what he described as repeated breaches of the club’s rules and dressing-room values.
Cardoso said the player had failed to report for important team duties, including the second leg of the CAF Champions League final and the club’s pre-season camp in Austria. The coach also revealed that there had been several occasions when Saleng failed to turn up when expected by the technical team.
Cardoso’s account suggests that the problem is not simply a footballing issue or a question of being left out because of competition for places.
The coach said Sundowns had tried to support and integrate Saleng into the group, but the repeated incidents eventually made it difficult for the technical team to continue treating the matter as a normal selection issue.
The matter has subsequently been handed over to Sundowns’ management.
The problems started at Orlando Pirates
Saleng’s current difficulties cannot be viewed in isolation from what happened during his final period at Orlando Pirates.
The winger was one of the club’s most exciting players and played a major role in their MTN8 success. However, after a promising start to the 2024/25 season, his relationship with the Soweto giants deteriorated.
His last appearance for Pirates came against Al Ahly in the CAF Champions League on 7 December 2024. He was subsequently frozen out of the team before being loaned to Orbit College.
At the time, various explanations emerged, including reports of dissatisfaction with his contract and possible transfer opportunities. Pirates, however, strongly denied reports that they had rejected a Middle Eastern offer for the player.
Saleng’s parents publicly became involved in the controversy.
His mother, Makie Tsoeu, reportedly said her son wanted to be paid what he believed he deserved, while his father, Thabo Tsoeu, expressed his pain at watching his son’s career suffer. His father also said the family wanted Saleng to remain with Pirates because it was one of the country’s biggest clubs.
Reports also claimed that his parents became involved in trying to persuade him to continue with Pirates during the difficult period.
One account said Saleng had initially been reluctant to travel for the MTN8 final against Stellenbosch because of his unhappiness, before being persuaded to join the team.
Agent gives a different perspective
While the contract and salary dispute dominated public discussion at the time, Saleng’s representative, Karabo Mathang-Tshabuse, later offered a different explanation.
She said the problem was not simply about money and suggested that Saleng was struggling psychologically and was not in the right frame of mind.
More recently, the agent has again raised concerns about his welfare, stressing that she is not a medical professional and cannot diagnose him, but saying she believes there is an issue that goes beyond ordinary misconduct.
According to the agent, these concerns did not suddenly emerge at Sundowns. She indicated that similar difficulties had already been noticed during his time at Pirates and subsequently at Orbit College.
That makes the current Sundowns situation considerably more complicated than a straightforward disciplinary dispute.
Sundowns move was supposed to be a fresh beginning
When Sundowns signed Saleng, there was considerable optimism that the move could revive his career.
The player had already demonstrated his ability at Pirates, including producing outstanding performances that earned him recognition with Bafana Bafana.
At Sundowns, however, he arrived after an injury-hit spell at Orbit and faced intense competition for places in one of the deepest squads in African football.
Although he showed flashes of his quality after joining the Brazilians, he has struggled to establish himself as a regular.
Now, with him training separately from the first team, the challenge is much bigger than winning back a starting position.
A career at a crossroads
Saleng’s story has therefore become one of the more worrying cases in South African football.
A player once regarded as one of the country’s most exciting wingers has gone from being a key figure at Pirates, to being frozen out, sent on loan to Orbit College, transferred to Sundowns and now isolated from another first-team squad.
There are two competing narratives surrounding his situation.
From the club’s perspective, professional footballers have responsibilities and must comply with team rules. Cardoso has made it clear that Sundowns cannot simply overlook repeated absences and breaches of club standards.
From the player’s camp, however, there are concerns that his behaviour may be connected to deeper personal and psychological difficulties that require proper support rather than simply punishment.
For now, Sundowns’ management holds the key to what happens next.
Whether Saleng can return to the first team, whether the club decides on another solution, or whether another chapter is added to an increasingly complicated career remains to be seen.
What is clear is that Saleng’s battle at Sundowns is no longer merely about football. It is about getting the player himself back on track.