Kaizer Chiefs' George Maluleka is set to become one of the highest-paid players in the country once his Mamelodi Sundowns contract kicks in, but is he worth the money?
It was confirmed by Chiefs recently that the midfield man had informed them of his decision to sign a pre-contract with Masandawana for next season, with Maluleka set to swap Johannesburg for Pretoria as he closes the chapter on his career at Naturena.
Siya sources earlier this month revealed that 'Mido' has penned a deal at Sundowns that could see him through until 2023, and source has also revealed that the 31-year-old will be earning upwards of R5,500,000 per annum over the course of his deal.
In total, should Maluleka go on to see out the full length of his reported three-year deal, then he will land upwards of R16.5 million for his efforts during the period at Chloorkop.
Though, as is so often the case in South African football, Sundowns have not confirmed the financial value of the deal – nor the transfer itself at this stage, the aforementioned figures are believed to put him amongst the highest-earning players at Sundowns and in South Africa.
During his six-year spell at Chiefs, Maluleka has directly contributed to 24 goals in 137 league games (6 goals, 18 assists), though hasn't scored in any competition since bagging a winner against SuperSport United back in December 2018.
Maluleka played his part in helping the club win an Absa Premiership trophy and MTN8 title during his spell there, playing 18+ league matches in all of his full seasons following his move from Matsatsantsa in 2014.
A contributing factor towards the midfielder's bumper deal with Sundowns will be the fact that he was available as a free agent and therefore did not require a transfer fee, although he will quickly be asked to justify the money once his time under Pitso Mosimane – or whoever may replace him - eventually gets underway in the future.
