Melbourne City FC can today announce the signing of Socceroos attacker Mathew Leckie on a three-year deal.
Leckie, originally from Melbourne, started his career at Bulleen Lions and has reached 64 Socceroos caps and scored 12 goals, the most recent coming on Friday morning in the 3-0 victory over Kuwait where he also took the captain’s armband.
The 30-year-old will return to the A-League after spending the last 10 seasons of his career in Germany, having most recently played for Hertha BSC after stints at FC Ingolstadt 04, FSV Frankfurt and Borussia Monchengladbach.
Leckie scored 10 goals from 139 Bundesliga appearances and netted a further 21 times in the second tier.
He becomes the fourth player at City in the current Socceroo squad joining Jamie Maclaren, Curtis Good and Connor Metcalfe.
He will join several other Melbourne boys at City, including Maclaren, Good, Andrew Nabbout, and Stefan Colakovski.
Melbourne City FC Director of Football Michael Petrillo said:
“Mathew has long been recognised as a stand-out Australian talent, and his success in the Bundesliga is testament to his ability to perform consistently at the highest level. The personal attributes that make him such a successful Socceroos leader and his pace, strength and skill on the pitch will make him a vital part of delivering the ‘City Style’ football we play.
“Winning the Premiership was an important moment, but we are always looking forward to our next challenge and to continuously improve. We have big ambitions and Mathew’s addition to the squad is a key part of the next phase of our growth.”
Mathew Leckie said:
“I first met Michael Petrillo when I was 18, and as a Melbourne boy I have followed Melbourne City’s growth closely in recent years. The Club are building something special, and I’m excited to be coming home to join the Premiers after such an unbelievable season of football.”
“I’ve been talking with all the Melbourne City players in the Socceroos squad, and I can’t wait to get started, to get to work and bring home some more silverware for the fans.”
