Cape Town City boss John Comitis has slapped a price tag of more than R30 million on striker Khanyisa Mayo, a move that has seemingly priced him out of the local market, with even mega-rich Mamelodi Sundowns dropping out of negotiations.
Mayo, who bagged 12 goals from 27 PSL games last season is now set for a move abroad, with City boss Comitis saying he expects the player to move to Europe.
Speaking to The Sowetan Comitis said: “Mayo’s value is in excess of two million dollars in my opinion.
“We are not going to compromise and sell ourselves short. He also deserves to go to a big club, but we want to be patient and he understands that he possibly needs one more season with us.
“If Mayo gets 15 goals this season, it is going to be the hardest thing to keep him in this country.
“We have had a lot of interest from Qatar and Saudi Arabia, but I think he deserves to go to Europe. He has that ability and mentality for it, so we are patient.
“Big clubs would like to have Mayo, we have had brief discussions with Mamelodi Sundowns. That’s why we never get any Sundowns players because the minute I ask for their player I have to sell one of mine to them. It’s a bit of a catch-22 situation.
𝗠𝗔𝗬𝗢 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗛 𝗥𝟯𝟲𝗺 ⁉️
— iDiski Times (@iDiskiTimes) August 1, 2023
Cape Town City chairman John Comitis has revealed he believes Khanyisa Mayo, who had been linked with Mamelodi Sundowns and Kaizer Chiefs before signing a new deal, is worth $2 million (36 million).https://t.co/QorkSBzzl9 pic.twitter.com/llaXzlgLwZ
“Sundowns were obviously interested and there is a relationship with Kaizer Chiefs from the Mayo family. We know this, but at the end of the day he was there for the picking when he was at Richards Bay, and nobody saw what our technical team saw.
“He is with us now and he is arguably the most marketable player in this league. He’s got a profile, he’s got the image, he’s got a swag about him, he puts the ball in the net — what else do you need?” asked Comitis.
Cape Town City start their league campaign on Sunday 6 August when they host Polokwane City and Comitis will be hoping that Mayo continues his form from last season where he tied with Sundown’s Namibian striker Peter Shalulile for the Golden Boot.
“There are clubs that want to take him, but we fight back and at least he is level-headed, and he understood what he needs to achieve first here before he can make his move.
“I certainly want to see him in Europe. We made it clear that we weren’t looking to offload him in this season. The club’s ambitions are a priority, we need to win silverware, we need to be taken seriously and be in the top four.
“I have been placing players in Europe for different clubs that I have managed and owned. We get requests weekly from all over the globe for some of our players, perhaps they know that we are willing to sell,” he said.
