The 22-year-old’s move was confirmed on Tuesday after an excellent season with Chiefs that saw him make 33 appearances in all competitions and help the side to third place in the league.
“We can confirm that we have agreed to release Aden after being approached by Sabah FK. We are proud that he will compete in the qualifying round of next season’s UEFA Champions League,” Chiefs Sporting Director Kaizer Motaung Jr said.
“We know Aden will fly the Amakhosi flag high in Europe, and we are excited to see him grow on the world stage.”
McCarthy will not be the first South African player to feature for them. Pule Ekstein spent the first half of the 2019/20 season there after also joining from Chiefs, before he signed for another Azerbaijani side, Sabail.
Ekstein made 16 appearances in all competitions and scored three goals, not the worst return, so it was a surprise at the time that he was swiftly moved on.
Sabah FK are relatively new, having only been formed in 2017, when they started in the second tier but immediately won promotion to the top flight.
They have not finished lower than seventh since then, and claimed their maiden league title in the 2025/26 campaign, finishing a full nine points ahead of Qarabağ.
They will debut in the Champions League in the coming campaign, having previously competed in the Europa League and Conference League, though without making the league phase of either competition.
Such was their domestic dominance in the last campaign that they completed a league and cup double, winning the Azerbaijan Cup for the second year in a row.
Their squad is a real mix of nationalities, with players from Croatia, France, Serbia, Poland, Brazil, Algeria, Gabon, Rwanda and even Guadeloupe.
They are coached by 49-year-old Lithuanian Valdas Dambrauskas, who had no professional playing career but has had a varied career in the dugout that has taken him to the likes of England, Latvia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece and Hungary.
That includes also winning the league title with Ludogorets Razgrad in Bulgaria and twice with Žalgiris in Lithuania, as well as cup competitions in the latter, Latvia and Croatia.
Their stadium is modest; they play at the 8,969-capacity Bank Respublika Arena in Masazır.
McCarthy is the son of former Chiefs star Fabian, and made his Bafana Bafana debut in the 2025 COSAFA Cup.