Marcelo Allende has been a revelation since joining Mamelodi Sundowns, but the story of how it took just 15 minutes for a R56 million deal to be completed is even more astonishing.
Read: Africa's Highest Paid? Details Of Tau's New Contract
Sundowns, with their on-field performances have shown that they are in a league of their own.
And it appears that model is replicated off the field, particularly when it comes to the club's recruitment policy, which has seen a positive upturn in recent years.
Sundowns were not always renowned for their recruiting acumen. Rather, the Brazilians were known to throw money at any player, whether he fitted into their system or not, to form part of the club.
However, in recent times the side from Chloorkop have had a more sophisticated approach with regards to bringing in players, using platforms such as Transfer Room, to rope in some of their South American stars.
Transfer Room, a global transfer network that aims to empower football clubs, agents and players to be successful in the transfer market by giving them real-time market intelligence and direct access to a global network of decision makers, is the place where Sundowns found Allende.
The Brazilians are over 700 clubs who use the platform, which has seen them benefit greatly.
According to Allende's former club Boss, it took Sundowns just 15 minutes to be convinced of the Chilean's ability, for a $3 million (±R56 million) deal to be concluded.
"It was a great opportunity to showcase a quality player who maybe not many clubs in the world were aware of... When I sat down with Mamelodi Sundowns, they told me what they were looking for and I presented the profile of Marcelo Allende. Two days later, they already had all the information about the player and they had verified everything I told them about him," Cristian Ogalde President of Club Deportivo Magallanes told Transfer Room.
Allende has been a revelation for Sundowns this season. So far, he has managed three goals and five assists in 31 matches played in all competitions.
