Reflecting on yet another campaign where the Buccaneers fell short, Klate emphasised that Sundowns' long-term planning and thorough player profiling set them apart.
The Brazilians, also known as Masandawana or the Tshwane giants, secured their eighth consecutive league title with an impressive 73 points from 28 matches.
In contrast, Pirates - despite a strong showing - finished second on 61 points. It marks the third season in a row that the Sea Robbers have ended as runners-up.
At one point, the title race had all the makings of a thrilling two-horse battle, but Sundowns pulled away with remarkable consistency.
Klate believes the Pirates' failure to reach the 70-point threshold - which has become a benchmark in the Sundowns era - remains a key obstacle.
"Pitso [Mosimane] left Sundowns in a good space and whoever came in after that, enhanced it," said Klate on SoccerBeat podcast.
"The players that they bring in, they've got a clear profile of a player they want, in what position they want. They don't just go out and sign whoever is in the market.
"They don't sign a player because for another team, they sign that player because they want him to come and compete with whoever they have. That brings about the competition, that's been the key to Sundowns' success; it's the competition within the group and the way the club operate.
"Sundowns have really dominated, and it's difficult for Pirates to catch up, and I'm happy to see the progress they have made.
"They came close this year, they can go back next year and look at where they went wrong this season and which games they were supposed to win and which games kept them close to Sundowns.
"The most important thing is to come close to Sundowns, don't even think of overtaking Sundowns for now.
"You know they are on 72 points, we played for 60-something points and won the league. This is how we used to win the league back in the days.
"Sundowns have upped the standard to 70-point mark. Extra ten points is needed to compete with Sundowns."
Orlando Pirates winger Monnapule Saleng was a serious target for Egyptian giants Al Ahly, it has been confirmed - months after his mysterious absence from the Buccaneers' matchday squads first sparked transfer speculation.
Rivaldo Coetzee and Sipho Mbule have both left Betway Premiership Champions Mamelodi Sundowns, agent Mike Makaab has revealed.
Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso admitted his players are suffering after their CAF Champions League final defeat to Pyramids, acknowledging that it is never nice to play the final and you don't win.
Mamelodi Sundowns saw their CAF Champions League dream slip away on Sunday night as they fell 2-1 to Egyptian side Pyramids FC, who lifted the prestigious continental trophy for the first time in their history.
