Khanyisa Mayo‘s agent, Basia Michaels, has revealed that the former Cape Town City striker was on the verge of joining Kaizer Chiefs before ultimately opting for a move to Algerian giants CR Belouizdad.
The 25-year-old, who clinched the 2022/23 DStv Premiership Golden Boot, had been heavily linked with a return to South Africa, with both Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns reportedly interested in his services.
However, Sundowns’ interest cooled after Mayo extended his contract with Cape Town City last season.
During an interview with Andile Ncube on Sports Night Amplified, Michaels confirmed that Chiefs made a substantial offer for the forward, but the deal with Belouizdad was finalized just moments earlier.
Chiefs had also put down a significant offer for Khanyisa, a few moments before we had actually penned our deal with CRB,”
“I do think had the deal fallen out with CRB, Khanyisa would’ve gone to Chiefs.”
Despite Mayo’s preference for a move to Naturena, due to his father’s history with the club, the lure of European football ultimately swayed the decision.
“He wanted what we would call the best outcome for himself,” she continued.
“It wasn’t a money-thing, Khanyisa wanted to go to Chiefs, there is no question about it. His father played for Chiefs, it has a bit of heritage for him.
“But he always wanted to leave South Africa. It’s something that he’d always expressed to me, I’ve been representing him since 2018.”
When asked if the Chiefs undervalued the player, Michaels replied that Amakhosi’s offer was made too late and that the player and his agents believed that moving to Europe would be more feasible following a successful season in Algeria.
“I think Chiefs fell short because they were seconds too late from the offer that was made from CRB,” she added.
“From CRB, Khanyisa does have an opportunity to move into Europe. It would be a lot harder for him to move from Chiefs to Europe.
“If he does something amazing at CRB within in his first season, I can tell you there will be suitors from the European market that will come knocking for him.”