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Billiat pens five-year deal at Sundowns

Sport
KHAMA Billiat has signed a five-year deal at South African Premiership football side Mamelodi Sundown to finally put to bed the long running soap opera on his transfer from Ajax Cape Town.

KHAMA Billiat has signed a five-year deal at South African Premiership football side Mamelodi Sundown to finally put to bed the long running soap opera on his transfer from Ajax Cape Town.

REPORT BY SPORTS EDITOR

He appeared on the club’s official website yesterday in the Sundowns colours and will now link up with fellow Zimbabweans Cuthbert Malajila and Esrom Nyandoro.

As part of the deal, striker Eleazar Rodgers will be returning to the Mother City with Ajax on a one year loan deal.

Belgian top-flight side Club Brugge and Orlando Pirates had opened talks for the transfer of the 22 year old after Ajax announced, last Thursday, that the deal to take Billiat to Chloorkop-the Sundowns headquarters-had been called off.

Sundowns spokesman Kabelo Mosito welcomed Billiat to the Sundowns family yesterday. “It is great to have a player of the calibre of Billiat on board, and clearly competition for a starting berth will be massive. This can only lead to a competitive spirit that is so critical in any team,” he said.

NewsDay Sport had reported last week that despite all talk about the deal, Billiat had decided that his future lay with the Brazilians and would not be afraid to face the competition.

“I am not afraid of the competition. In fact, the competition will take my game to the next level. People might say there are too many players there, but this is the best decision for me right now.”

Sundowns have said the reported R9million transfer figure is not true, but sources have said the player would pocket R300 000 monthly and R900 000 as 10% of the transfer fee in a deal believed to be one of the biggest in the Absa Premiership history that would make him one of the most expensive foreign players.

The previous officially confirmed figure of a foreign player is that of former Botswana international Dipsy Selolwane, who moved from Santos to Jomo Cosmos for 800 000 euros in the 2007/2008 season.

Billiat’s transfer fee also beats the R6-million that Kaizer Chiefs paid SuperSport United last year for defender Morgan Gould.