Associated Press
guardian.co.uk, Saturday 20 August 2011 13.23 BST
Article history
Harry Kewell, who has won 54 caps for Australia, has never played in the A-League before. Photograph: Robert Cianfone/Getty Images
Harry Kewell will play top-flight football in Australia for the first time after agreeing a three-year deal with Melbourne Victory. The signing ends two months of negotiations after Kewell's contract expired with the Turkish club Galatasaray.
The 32-year-old has never played in Australia's national league, having left his hometown of Sydney in 1995 to move to the Premier League with Leeds United and then Liverpool.
Kewell's management team had sought a bonus clause in his contract to reflect attendance increases when and where Kewell played but it was not known if that clause was included.
"I am proud to be Australian and want to give something back to the game there," Kewell said. "It has always been my ambition to play in my home country and I am very pleased to have that opportunity by playing for Melbourne Victory."
The club's chairman, Anthony di Pietro, called the signing "the most significant in Australian football and A-League history". He said: "Harry is an Australian sporting icon and will attract more fans to football and boost greater interest and participation in the sport in Australia."
Di Pietro added that Kewell, who is on holiday with his family in Portugal, will arrive in early September and will be ready to play in Victory's opening match against Sydney in October.
The Football Federation Australia chief executive, Ben Buckley, believes Kewell's return represents a "red-letter day" for the sport in the country. "Harry is rightly acclaimed as Australia's most gifted footballer with a celebrated record of achievement," Buckley said. "His homecoming will be hugely popular."
Kewell scored 45 goals in 181 appearances for Leeds before moving to Liverpool in 2003. At Anfield, he played 93 matches, including the 2005 Champions League final, but he struggled with injury during five years on Merseyside. He moved to Galatasaray in 2008 and scored 23 goals in 61 games.
guardian.co.uk, Saturday 20 August 2011 13.23 BST
Article history
Harry Kewell, who has won 54 caps for Australia, has never played in the A-League before. Photograph: Robert Cianfone/Getty Images
Harry Kewell will play top-flight football in Australia for the first time after agreeing a three-year deal with Melbourne Victory. The signing ends two months of negotiations after Kewell's contract expired with the Turkish club Galatasaray.
The 32-year-old has never played in Australia's national league, having left his hometown of Sydney in 1995 to move to the Premier League with Leeds United and then Liverpool.
Kewell's management team had sought a bonus clause in his contract to reflect attendance increases when and where Kewell played but it was not known if that clause was included.
"I am proud to be Australian and want to give something back to the game there," Kewell said. "It has always been my ambition to play in my home country and I am very pleased to have that opportunity by playing for Melbourne Victory."
The club's chairman, Anthony di Pietro, called the signing "the most significant in Australian football and A-League history". He said: "Harry is an Australian sporting icon and will attract more fans to football and boost greater interest and participation in the sport in Australia."
Di Pietro added that Kewell, who is on holiday with his family in Portugal, will arrive in early September and will be ready to play in Victory's opening match against Sydney in October.
The Football Federation Australia chief executive, Ben Buckley, believes Kewell's return represents a "red-letter day" for the sport in the country. "Harry is rightly acclaimed as Australia's most gifted footballer with a celebrated record of achievement," Buckley said. "His homecoming will be hugely popular."
Kewell scored 45 goals in 181 appearances for Leeds before moving to Liverpool in 2003. At Anfield, he played 93 matches, including the 2005 Champions League final, but he struggled with injury during five years on Merseyside. He moved to Galatasaray in 2008 and scored 23 goals in 61 games.
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