Brisbane Roar has moved to consolidate its position as a powerhouse of the Hyundai A-League competition by securing three of its most exciting talents to multi-year contracts.
Brisbane captain and Qantas Socceroo Matt McKay and fellow midfielder Massimo Murdocca have both signed three year contracts with the club, taking the members of the club’s inaugural squad through to the end of the the Hyundai A-League 2013/14 season.
In a further boost, youngster Mitch Nichols has pledged his future to the club for a further two seasons beyond the conclusion of this Hyundai A-League campaign.
The re-signings are a significant boost to the club as it looks to develop a strong club culture of success and stability within its playing roster.
Brisbane Roar Head Coach Ange Postecoglou said he was delighted the trio had committed themselves to the Brisbane cause having been significant contributors to the positive start to the current season.
“It is a tremendous vote of confidence in the direction that the club is heading and it will give a great boost to everyone involved with the club and especially our supporters that three of our most popular players will be in Brisbane colours over the next few years,” Postecoglou said.
“I am obviously pleased with our progress this year but I see this as only the beginning of what we hope will be the club’s most successful period.
“The lessons learned from the A-League are that you need stability to build success and our aim is to be consistently competitive which is why we have secured the majority of our squad for the next 2 or 3 years.”
Brisbane CEO Peter McLennan said the re-signings of McKay, Murdocca and Nichols should give the Brisbane sporting public great confidence in the positive direction in which the club was headed.
“This season has obviously been very promising to date, but these signings are an excellent reflection of the optimism surrounding the club heading into the future,” McLennan said.
“Both on and off the park, these signings are representative of the important improvements we have made over the past nine months.
“The players have great confidence that Brisbane Roar is a club where they can be successful and it is certainly our aim to develop a culture which breeds success.
“We’re delighted that we can provide our fans with what we believe is an early Christmas present they can all enjoy.”
Postecoglou has maintained his confidence in holding onto Brisbane’s big name players and commended the trio and their management for the positive discussions held throughout the process.
“I would like to commend the players and their representatives for the manner in which negotiations were conducted,” he said.
“From the outset they made it clear to me that they wanted to continue their careers with Brisbane Roar and at no stage did they use other options as a means of negotiation.”
Brisbane fans will next get to celebrate the re-signings when the side takes on local rivals Gold Coast United in the M1 Derby at Suncorp Stadium on December 26.
The Boxing Day clash at Suncorp Stadium also marks the first fixture in the club’s Christmas Five Pack Membership offer, which would make the perfect Yuletide gift for any local sporting enthusiast.
To purchase your Christmas membership click here, to purchase match day tickets for the M1 Derby click here.
