Colombian striker Leonardo Castro had personal problems that resulted in him leaving Mamelodi Sundowns to join Kaizer Chiefs, says coach Pitso Mosimane.

With his Sundowns contract expiring in June, Chiefs reached an agreement with the Brazilians for Castro to join them in January.

The want-away striker grew disillusioned at Chloorkop after three seasons despite winning the Premiership, Telkom Knockout and CAF Champions League.

"He had his own personal issues that we do not want to talk about. He was forever not around [as he was] in Colombia," Mosimane said.

"It just did not work out. You ask yourself, the guy was scoring 13 goals then he scores once, what happened? He was a big part to help us reach 71 points. He played half of the Champions League after the group stages [and] he never played again.

"He is the one who brought the South American influence to us. You need to accept that he has to move on. We can only keep memories of the CBD and no one can write that off."

Sundowns are in cruise control after securing their fourth win in a row, thrashing Bloemfontein Celtic 4-1 at Loftus Versveld on Saturday.

With the team in fine goal scoring form, Mosimane feels the search for a new striker will not be easy.

"Yes, we hope to replace Castro but it's not easy to find a player of his calibre. We are trying to make a duplicate with Sbu [Vilakazi] because he keeps us playing," he said.

"Sometimes you wait for that kind of player and maybe you don't need that kind of player. If we can score goals maybe we don't need him [new striker]."

Ahead of their clash against Cape Town City tomorrow, Mosimane said: "Benni is an attacking coach. His team goes forward. They don't sit at the back, they play. I don't know the ace he has in his pocket, we'll see."