Namibia utility player Aprocius Petrus has been sold by relegated Cape Town City to Sudanese champions Al Hilal, signing a four-year deal on Tuesday.
Petrus, who is used mainly as a left-back in his national team but played at both centre-back and central midfield for CT City, joins Al Hilal just weeks after they secured the league title in the war-torn country in a one-month mini-tournament on their return to playing in Sudan for the first time in more than two years.
The 26-year-old Petrus joined City after the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations finals, having previously played in Kosovo. Over one-and-a-half seasons, he started 35 games in all competitions for the Cape Town club, who were surprisingly relegated at the end of the last campaign.
Al Hilal had been in exile, based in Mauritania over the last season because of the civil war in Sudan, but returned to play in an eight-team tournament, along with arch-rival Al Merrikh.
It was held at Ad-Damer, some 430km from the capital Khartoum, which has been badly damaged by the civil war, as well as Atbara, which is 320km north of Khartoum.
It is not known if, or when, Al Hilal will be returning to the capital.
Al Hilal won the Mauritania league as guest participants last season, and their success in the mini-Sudan championship means they will again compete in the African Champions League this coming campaign.
They have qualified for the competition for 22 successive seasons and reached the group phase 13 times but never the final. Last season, they topped their group standings but then lost to Egyptian giants Al Ahly in the quarterfinal.