Mamelodi Sundowns and Ricardo Nascimento have reached an amicable agreement to part ways, bringing the defender’s time at the club to an end.
Nascimento joined Bafana Ba Style in July 2016 from Académica de Coimbra, Portugal. The left-footed center back enjoyed a successful spell at Chloorkop across playing 144 matches in all competitions for The Brazilians, scoring 17 goals during his time at the club.
Nascimento was part of all four of Masandawana’s consecutive PSL title-winning campaigns and also lifted the Nedbank Cup, Telkom Knockout and most notably, the CAF Super Cup, where he scored in the final. During his stay at the club Ricardo also donned the captain’s armband on numerous occasions.
Co-Coach Rulani Mokwena lauded the Brazilian upon his departure, noting Ricardo’s attitude towards the game as a key factor in his success at Sundowns: “He’s been nothing but a loyal servant, his performances on the pitch speak only about a player that was always willing to do more than required of him.
The qualities that he possessed will be very difficult to replicate or replace. We’ve got our work cut out as a club, to make sure that we get a player of the same sort of technical and tactical qualities, if not better, that shows and speaks about his qualities as a football player, but over and above that for me, I always say that good football players are only good if they are good human beings.”
“I don’t think anyone at the club has got a single bad word to say about Ricardo, [he’s] a gentle giant, a humble soul, someone that’s always wearing a smile on his face, always prepared to do more than required and shows huge determination and perseverance. He’s had two very, very big surgeries and those did not stop him from being able to recover and to serve this club.”
Upon his departure, Ricardo gave thanks to those who played a role on his journey with Sundowns: “I’m very grateful to Mamelodi Sundowns for all these years that I have worn this shirt and for all the titles and achievements we have been able to conquer together as a team.”
Source: www.sundownsfc.co.za
