South African youngster Thabo Cele has signed a five-year contract with top Portuguese side Benfica.
The 20-year-old midfielder‚ who was groomed through the KwaZulu-Natal Academy and has been playing in the lower leagues in Portugal this season at Real Sport Clube de Massama‚ will join the former European champions at the start of next season.
He is the latest South African to move to a top-flight team in Portugal after Bongani Zungu‚ Haashim Domingo and Thabang Phete (all Vitoria Guimaraes)‚ and Luther Singh (Sporting Braga).
Johannesburg-born Sergio Marakis also plays in the second-tier at União da Madeira.
But Cele is at the biggest club of all‚ with Benfica considered among the country’s elite along with FC Porto and Sporting Lisbon.
It is the continuation of a meteoric rise for the KwaMashu-born attacking midfielder‚ who was a standout player for the KwaZulu-Natal Academy in the 2015 Durban Under-19 International Football Tournament and after last year’s event won a move to Campeonato de Portugal side Real Sport Clube‚ where he has netted three goals in 21 games in this campaign.
KwaZulu-Natal Academy Managing Director Carlos Catalino is delighted and hopes it will be the first of many overseas moves for players from the province.
“The KZN Academy is proud of Thabo for the hard work and perseverance he has demonstrated‚” Catalino said.
“When Thabo moved to Portugal in August 2016‚ we were apprehensive given his age‚ but he made it clear from the beginning that he was not looking to come back to Durban‚ but to do whatever it took to forge a career for himself in Europe.
“This move to Benfica is a massive boost‚ not only for Thabo but for the academy and the work it seeks to achieve. Our sincere gratitude go to the
KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government‚ eThekwini Municipality and the South African Football Association for having supported this football development project since inception in 2014.
“We hope Thabo’s move will inspire all other young players to work harder and more importantly‚ to be mentally strong to overcome challenges posed by being a professional player. This is just the beginning for him. Now the hard work begins.”
Another SA youngster signs for big club in Portugal‚ this time Benfica
South African youngster Thabo Cele has signed a five-year contract with top Portuguese side Benfica.
The 20-year-old midfielder‚ who was groomed through the KwaZulu-Natal Academy and has been playing in the lower leagues in Portugal this season at Real Sport Clube de Massama‚ will join the former European champions at the start of next season.
He is the latest South African to move to a top-flight team in Portugal after Bongani Zungu‚ Haashim Domingo and Thabang Phete (all Vitoria Guimaraes)‚ and Luther Singh (Sporting Braga).
Johannesburg-born Sergio Marakis also plays in the second-tier at União da Madeira.
But Cele is at the biggest club of all‚ with Benfica considered among the country’s elite along with FC Porto and Sporting Lisbon.
It is the continuation of a meteoric rise for the KwaMashu-born attacking midfielder‚ who was a standout player for the KwaZulu-Natal Academy in the 2015 Durban Under-19 International Football Tournament and after last year’s event won a move to Campeonato de Portugal side Real Sport Clube‚ where he has netted three goals in 21 games in this campaign.
KwaZulu-Natal Academy Managing Director Carlos Catalino is delighted and hopes it will be the first of many overseas moves for players from the province.
“The KZN Academy is proud of Thabo for the hard work and perseverance he has demonstrated‚” Catalino said.
“When Thabo moved to Portugal in August 2016‚ we were apprehensive given his age‚ but he made it clear from the beginning that he was not looking to come back to Durban‚ but to do whatever it took to forge a career for himself in Europe.
“This move to Benfica is a massive boost‚ not only for Thabo but for the academy and the work it seeks to achieve. Our sincere gratitude go to the
KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government‚ eThekwini Municipality and the South African Football Association for having supported this football development project since inception in 2014.
“We hope Thabo’s move will inspire all other young players to work harder and more importantly‚ to be mentally strong to overcome challenges posed by being a professional player. This is just the beginning for him. Now the hard work begins.”
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