Gaston Sirino has opened up on his struggle to leave Mamelodi Sundowns in favour of a move to his dream club, Al Ahly.
Gaston Sirino has opened up on his struggle to leave Mamelodi Sundowns in favour of a move to his dream club, Al Ahly.
It is a saga that has been dragging on for the last year.
Midfield maestro Sirino has once again publicly reiterated his desire to reunite with coach Pitso Mosimane at the Red Eagles, this time it was in a conversation with Egyptian football channel, OnTime Sports.
Sirino publicly told the Siya crew that he was hoping for a move to Cairo, although Sundowns slammed the door shut on the possibility of the 30-year-old leaving the club at the time.
"I am struggling with Sundowns to achieve my dream of joining Al-Ahly, and I hope that the two parties will reach an agreement,” he told OnTime Sports.
"[Pitso] Mosimane has great belief in me, and he was the reason why I came to South Africa," he added.
Of course, landing Sirino won’t come cheap for the reigning CAF Champions League winners, with the Uruguayan having penned a new five-year deal with Downs in June last year - but as we have seen in the past, money is not an issue for Al Ahly, particularly with their midfielder Aliou Dieng the subject of a €10m (±R169m) offer from Turkish outfit, Galatasaray.
The Siya crew understands that Al Ahly would have to fork out around €6m (±R101m) to €8m (±R135m) to land Sirino as his replacement.
Moreover, Sirino added that despite being on the wrong age of 30, he is still able to deliver on the field of play, should he achieve his dream of playing for the Egyptians.
"Playing for Al-Ahly is a big dream, and I will wait and fight for it until the last day on the field, and I feel that my physical fitness is at its peak, and the age factor has no effect on my performance," he added.
It now remains to be seen whether Sundowns give in to the player’s demands and cash in on Sirino or whether they continue playing hard ball to hold onto their top performer for the last three seasons.
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