Sundowns attacker feels ‘unseen’ as passion for football fades

Mamelodi Sundowns player Thapelo Maseko has opened up about his struggles at the club, admitting he feels “unseen” and that his love for the game is fading.

Maseko’s future at Sundowns has been the subject of speculation due to his limited playing time last season. The Bafana Bafana international appeared in just 14 matches across all competitions, scoring a single goal.

His exclusion from the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup squad further fueled rumours that he may not be in the plans of head coach Miguel Cardoso.

The 21-year-old joined Sundowns in 2023 from SuperSport United after a promising start to his career, where he played 34 senior matches, scoring four goals and providing two assists.

After missing the first two matches of the new season, Maseko took to Instagram on Sunday to share his feelings. “Lately it’s like the fire in me is fading,” he wrote.

“I still train like my life depends on it, still push through every tired muscle, mental battle, but inside it feels empty.”

The 2023 AFCON bronze medalist with Bafna Bafana Maseko continued, expressing a “strange kind of pain, giving everything you have but feeling unseen.”

He described how his confidence is crumbling and his joy is fading, with his hunger and excitement for the game “slipping away piece by piece.” The hardest part, he concluded, is “still showing up every single day, hoping you’ll find it again.”