The bitter contractual dispute between Mamelodi Sundowns and Keagan Dolly took yet another twist on Saturday when the club accused the player’s father‚ Ramon‚ of going out of his way to drag the Pretoria side’s name through the mud.

Sundowns owner Patrice Motsepe said this week there was an European club that expressed interest in Dolly and while the mining magnate did not reveal the identity of the team‚ it has since emerged that the side in question is English Premier League club Manchester City.

But Ramon raised doubts over the revelation and said in an interview with SABC radio on Thursday that he phoned City to test the veracity of the claims and officials at the English club said they’d never heard of anyone named Dolly.

Sundowns GM Sizwe Nzimande fired back on Saturday and said he was “extremely” disappointed with Ramon’s utterances.

“The sad thing is he (Ramon) actually knows that what the president said is true and the City Football Group‚ which Manchester City are a part of‚ had an interest in Dolly‚” a seething Nzimande said on Saturday.

“What he said was intended to make Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club look bad and we are tired of this. We do not know what his motive is but we will provide proof.”

Manchester City‚ New York City FC‚ Australia’s Melbourne City FC and Japanese side Yokohama F. Marinos are all members of the City Football Group.

Nzimande furnished an email that was sent to Sundowns on August 25 last year by Brian Marwood‚ the MD of City Football Services‚ as proof of City’s advances.

City officials apparently visited the club on several occasions and also attended Sundowns games to see Dolly in action first-hand.

After they were satisfied with what they saw‚ a decision was then taken to “park” Dolly at New York City FC under coach Patrick Vieira as the player didn’t have enough Bafana Bafana caps to qualify for a work permit in England.

The City Football Group even suggested at one stage that Dolly should move to Australia while he was in the process fighting for Bafana caps but Sundowns shot down the idea.

Nzimande said the player was then to stay in New York until such time that he had played enough Bafana matches to qualify for a move to England.

 “We have never stood in Dolly’s way and it is unfair for anyone to suggest that we were lying about the City Football Group’s interest in Dolly.

“To claim that we are blocking Dolly’s move to Europe is just wrong on so many levels.”

 Nzimande said City’s interest in Dolly has fluctuated over the last months and there have been periods when they have remained silent before making contact with Chloorkop.

It remains to be seen how much of an effect all this will have on Dolly when the domestic topflight resumes after the African Nations Cup next month.

 If he is not able to secure a move away from Sundowns in the coming weeks‚ the second half of the PSL season could prove tricky for a player who clearly wants to leave. — TMG Digital