Sydney FC legend Rhyan Grant has signed a new two-year contract with the club which will see the long-time fan favourite complete 18 seasons in Sky Blue.
It caps a fantastic few days for the 21-time Socceroo after captaining the club and scoring the opening goal in last Saturday’s 4-1 Sydney Derby drubbing of Western Sydney Wanderers.
The 33-year old, one-club player is the Sky Blues’ record appearance maker and he says he’s excited to be staying Sky Blue.
“It’s a great feeling to be re-signing,” he said.
“As you get older, you question if you’re good enough and if the club wants you.
“I’ve got a family too and you’ve got to weigh up a lot of options, but my priority was always to stay in Sydney; and if the club were happy to have me, I couldn’t see myself going anywhere else.”
The four-time Sky Blues Championship winner has been on fire in recent months and scored his third goal of the campaign against the Wanderers which is a personal record for a regular season.
He is looking forward to what lies ahead.
“We’ve been doing really well and playing some good football, which has gone hand-in-hand [with the goalscoring],” he continued.
“How we play suits my game, where you can be on the front foot and on the throat of the opposition.
“I love the way we are playing and the vision for the club is a major factor of why I wanted to stay.”
Head Coach Ufuk Talay praised Grant’s contribution and believes he will continue to give great service.
“Rhyan embodies passion, excellence, respect, and team-work which is much of what Sydney FC is all about,” he said.
“He performances and attitude have been integral to us this season and in all of his previous 15 years at Sydney FC.
“He is showing great maturity in the way he plays, and he will continue to perform an integral leadership role within our club, helping to bring through the next generation of stars.”
As for retirement, Grant isn’t considering when that may be, however he wants to remain loyal to Sydney FC.
“This contract will take me to 35, so I’ll have to see how the body feels,” he said.
“Hopefully, I can play for a couple of years afterwards, but I definitely want to retire a one-club man.
“By the time this contract ends, it’ll be 18 years with the club, so I’d like to think I could stay for the rest of my career.
“But that’s a long time away, and we’ll have to see how that plays out.”
Grant has made 328 appearances in all competitions for Sydney FC and scored 18 goals.
He will celebrate his new contract in front of a home crowd this Sunday against Brisbane Roar at Allianz Stadium (5pm), as he takes another step on the journey to becoming Sydney FC’s first 400 game player.
