Rulani Mokwena a no-show at Sundowns training as he nears shock exit

Rulani Mokwena has missed Mamelodi Sundowns’ opening two days of their preseason camp as he edges towards the exit door at Chloorkop.

This would be a shock to the system not just for Sundowns, but South African football. As sole head coach Mokwena has led Downs to their sixth and seventh DStv Premiership titles, setting a new 16-team points record of 73 last campaign. He reached successive Caf Champions League semifinals and won the inaugural African Football League (AFL) last campaign.

Sundowns' players, without the Bafana Bafana stars who were in the squad for last month's 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Nigeria and Zimbabwe, reported back for preseason on Monday but Mokwena was conspicuous by his absence, TimesLIVE is reliably informed.

Mokwena was a no-show at the University of Pretoria’s High-Performance Centre on Monday where Downs' players did their medicals in preparation for preseason.

Mokwena and his assistants Michael Loftman and Sinethemba Badela did not report to the team’s first training session at Chloorkop on Tuesday, where senior coach Manqoba Mngqithi and goalkeeper coach Wendell Robinson addressed the players before they got to work.

Mokwena's possible shock departure comes after a breakdown in his relationship with technical director Flemming Berg. The pair have disagreed on transfers, training methods, introduction of young players and the route the club should take going forward.

An issue believed to have angered Mokwena is how the departures of midfielder Bongani Zungu and attacker Thabiso Kutumela were allegedly handled by Berg behind his back.

Mokwena’s imminent departure from the club is a huge shock as he pledged to stay at Sundowns for many years to come after Esperance dumped them out of the Champions League in last season's semifinals in April.

“My intentions are to be here, to stay and do my best every day to try to deliver the Champions League,” the coach said then. “But football is business and results-orientated and I don’t make those decisions about which coach stays and which coach goes.”

Mokwena signed a new four-year deal in June last year to keep him at Chloorkop until 2027.

A highlight was winning the inaugural AFL by beating Downs' Moroccan rivals Wydad Casablanca and wrapping up this season's Premiership title with six matches to spare.

Winning the league in 2023-2024, the Brazilians came close to becoming South Africa's “Invincibles” as they lost only one game over the season, on the final day of the season away to Cape Town City.

Attempts to reach Sundowns general manager Yogesh Singh for comment were not immediately successful.