Outgoing Mamelodi Sundowns forward Cassius Mailula says his football journey has not been easy ahead of his move to the MLS and revealed that he nearly left the club just before he was promoted to the senior team.
Mailula spent just one season in the DStv Premiership after he was promoted from the Sundowns reserves team ahead of the 2022/23 season and is already on his way to United States of America, to join Toronto FC, after scoring nine goals in the league and six in the CAF Champions League for the Brazilians.
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The 22-year-old says it was not exactly easy to get a break in the senior team and revealed that he actually wanted to leave Sundowns just before he got promoted.
Mailula temporarily moved away from the club to play for University side TUT, where he was also studying and says he wanted to leave the Brazilians for good, as things were seemingly not working out for him.
"It was not easy, it was actually tough, because there was a point actually that I wanted to leave Sundowns but I'm grateful that I actually got to TUT to learn certain things and even bring myself back," Mailula said on Marawa Sports Worldwide.
"It actually happened but not to go (away) permanently from the club. I think it helped me a lot to go to TUT and find myself, to enjoy football again.
"They (TUT) played a huge role. Even some coaches at the club helped me, because when I came back they motivated me, they were happy to see me enjoy football, being confident," he said.
The Limpopo native went on and said that he was encouraged by a number of players being promoted and after he was also promoted, the coaches told him to never look back.
"That's when I started to do well and from that moment they told me to never look back, to never give up, to be positive because there were a lot of players promoted and taken to the first team," he said.
"I was one person who stayed patient, to never give up, hang in there even when it was not easy. Actually going to school helped me to be grounded because I knew that even when things are not going well football wise, I still have something that I can fall (back) on," he added.
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