Percy Muzi Tau (born 13 May 1994) is a South African professional footballer who plays as a forward for Egyptian Premier League club Al Ahly and the South Africa national team.
Tau began his footballing career with Premier Soccer League side Mamelodi Sundowns where he made 100 appearances either side of a loan to Witbank Spurs. During his time with Sundowns, he won the league title twice and the CAF Champions League once and was named Footballer of the Year and joint-top-goalscorer in his final season with the club.
He joined Brighton in 2018 but, due to work-permit complications, was loaned out to Belgian side Union SG with whom he won the Proximus League Player of the Season award. His form earned him a short-term move to Club Brugge, where he won a league winners' medal the following season, before being loaned out for a third consecutive season when he signed for rivals Anderlecht in 2020.
Tau signed for Egyptian Premier League side Al Ahly in 2021 on a two-year contract.
Club career
Mamelodi Sundowns
Born in Burgersfort, Tau began his career with Mamelodi Sundowns in the Premier Soccer League. He made his professional debut for the club on 25 February 2014 in the league against Orlando Pirates. He came on as an 85th-minute substitute for Domingues as Sundowns lost 1–0. Tau then scored his first professional goal for the club during a Nedbank Cup match on 22 March 2014 against Golden Arrows. His 90th-minute goal was the fourth and final goal for Sundowns as they won 4–1 against the Arrows. He then scored his first goal in international club competition on 5 April 2015 in a CAF Champions League match against TP Mazembe. He scored the Sundown's one and only goal of the match in the 84th minute as Mamelodi Sundowns fell 3–1. After two seasons and rarely appearing for Mamelodi Sundowns, Tau was released in the 2014–15 season.
On the advice of then-youth coach Rhulani Mokwena, he was loaned to National First Division side Witbank Spurs instead. He made his debut for the club on 6 February 2016 in a 3–1 win over African Warriors and went on to score 3 goals in 11 appearances during his loan spell.
After a season with Witbank Spurs, Tau rejoined Mamelodi Sundowns and was included in the squad for the club's CAF Champions League campaign. He featured throughout and played every minute of both legs of a 3–1 aggregate win over Egyptian side Zamalek in the CAF Champions League Final. The victory was Sundowns' first ever triumph in a continental competition. He then scored his first goal in the league for the club on 2 November 2016 against Polokwane City. He scored the first of two goals for the side as they went on to win 2–0. Tau then made his debut for the side in the FIFA Club World Cup on 11 December 2016 against Kashima Antlers. Sundowns were knocked-out of the competition after losing to the Japanese side 2–0. During the fifth-place match, Tau scored the only goal for Sundowns as they fell 4–1 to Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors of South Korea.
During the 2017–18 season, Tau scored 11 goals to help Mamelodi Sundowns to the league title. His form throughout the season saw him share the Lesley Manyathela Golden Boot with Rodney Ramagalela and earned him the Footballer of the Season and Players' Player of the Season awards. As a result of his achievements, Tau was courted by a number of European clubs during the off-season. Amidst the speculation surrounding his future, he refused to join Sundowns in the pre-season preparations in an attempt to force through a move.
Brighton & Hove Albion
On 20 July 2018, Tau signed a four-year contract with English Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion, for an undisclosed transfer fee, reported to be in the region of R50 million (UK£2.7 million), a South African record sale of a domestic player. Brighton manager, Chris Hughton, confirmed that Tau would be loaned out shortly after his transfer, after failing a UK work permit, as well as him wanting the South African international to gain European football experience. On 7 January 2021, he returned to Brighton & Hove Albion, after being recalled from his loan spell at Anderlecht.
Loan to Union SG
On 15 August, Tau joined Belgian second division side Union SG, owned by Brighton chairman Tony Bloom, on a season-long loan. He was immediately introduced into the first team and played a particularly important role in the Belgian Cup during the first half of the season, scoring four goals in six appearances to help the club reach the semi-finals after recording historic wins over both Anderlecht and Genk.