Thapelo Maseko Joins FC Copenhagen as Sundowns Exit Finalized

Mamelodi Sundowns and FC Copenhagen have agreed a deal for Thapelo Maseko, clearing the runway for the 22-year-old to swap Chloorkop for Denmark and a fresh start in Europe.

The transfer fee was settled earlier this week, and Maseko is expected to jet out for his medical before the weekend. Once he passes that hurdle, the move will be rubber-stamped and his time as a Sundowns player formally brought to an end.

It closes a turbulent spell in Pretoria.

Just weeks ago, Maseko was one of the faces of Bafana Bafana’s historic 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign, scoring the winner against South Korea as South Africa reached the knockout phase for the first time. Yet, despite that surge in profile and form, he was left out of Sundowns’ pre-season tour to Austria last month, a decision that underlined how far he had slipped down the pecking order at the club.

The winger had already made his intentions clear. He wanted out. Coach Miguel Cardoso confirmed publicly that Maseko had expressed a desire to leave, and once that admission was made, a parting of ways felt inevitable.

Maseko arrived at Sundowns from SuperSport United in July 2023 on the back of a breakout season with Matsatsantsa, the kind of campaign that marked him as one of the most exciting young attackers in the country. The move to Chloorkop was supposed to be the next big leap.

Instead, opportunities dried up. Game time shrank. By the second half of last season, he had fallen out of favour and was shipped out on loan to AEL Limassol in Cyprus.

That detour, though, revived him. In Limassol he rediscovered rhythm and confidence, enough to force his way back into the Bafana Bafana setup and onto the World Cup stage. The loan spell came at a cost, though. Reports from the public broadcaster indicated that payment issues marred the final months of his stay in Cyprus, leaving the player reluctant to return there under any circumstances.

So Europe would remain the goal, but not via the same route.

Copenhagen have now provided the platform. By opting to buy Maseko outright, the Danish giants hand him the chance to settle in a stable environment, compete for domestic honours and test himself in European competition with a club that regularly looks beyond its own borders.

The move also taps into South African football history. Maseko will walk a path once carved out by Sibusiso Zuma, the Bafana legend who became a cult figure at Copenhagen, making 188 appearances and scoring 53 goals after joining them in 2000.

Now it is Maseko’s turn to see what kind of legacy he can build in Denmark.