Former Mamelodi Sundowns Defender Ricardo Nascimento Shocks PSL by Joining Ambitious Royal AM

• Royal AM surprised South African football with the unexpected but bold acquisition of Brazilian defender Ricardo Nascimento
• The 35-year-old Nascimento had announced earlier this week on Twitter that his journey with the 'other' Brazilians had come to an end
• The announcement of his arrival at AM was a typically snazzy affair, with owner Shauwn "Mamkhize" Mkhize on hand to explain why she'd signed him

Royal AM made a statement of intent with its latest acquisition in the form of Brazilian defender Ricardo Nascimento.

Nascimento departed Mamelodi Sundowns this week after playing for the Tshwane team for more than six years. He made the announcement in a Twitter post.

With speculation about his next destination, whether it was in remaining in South Africa or heading back to South Africa, KickOff revealed that Nascimento had signed for Shauwn "MaMkhize" Mkhize's club. AM made the announcement on its Instagram account.

The post read:

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"We are making our intentions very very clear as to what is it that we want to achieve, obviously we need to start by stabilizing the defence and we cannot wait to play our first match. Welcome home @ricardonascimento03 #royalam #thwihlithwahla #toomuchsauce"

Having only played six matches this season, Nascimento struggled for game time after a return from injury. iDiskiTimes also revealed that Sundowns had offered the 35-year-old an administrative role at the club with the perception that his career was winding down.

Mamkhize said in a video on Royal AM's Facebook page:

“I’m trying to make sure that Royal AM is strengthened. I started with the wingers, I went to the strikers and now I’m coming to the core, strengthening my defence."

Ricardo Nascimento bids farewell to Mamelodi Sundowns supporters after six glorious years

Mamelodi Sundowns' Brazilian defender Ricardo Nascimento's very successful stay in South Africa is coming to an end.

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Since joining Sundowns in 2016, Nascimento helped Masandawana to four league titles and was also linked with a move before the start of the season.

His 53 appearances for the club also contributed to a Nedbank Cup title, the CAF Super Cup and a Telkom Cup winners medal.