Socceroos star Mark Milligan to sign for Bani Yas

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  • Mark Milligan will leave Melbourne Victory to join Bani Yas in the AGL.

    Third time is the charm for Arabian Gulf League outfit Bani Yas as they look set to complete a long-awaited move for Australia star Mark Milligan.

    Milligan, 29, has seen two previous offers to head to the Sky Blues – who finished eight this term – fall apart in 2013 and 2014. But this is set to change in the coming days, with the club convinced they have finally got their man.

    The defensive midfielder featured prominently on a list of players recently submitted to the board of directors, with the A$1 million (Dh2.88m) release clause in his contract at A-League champions Melbourne Victory being met. 

    Reports from Fox Sports in his home country stated yesterday the 39-times capped Socceroo was “seriously considering a lucrative move to the Middle East” on a “life-changing” two-year deal. 

    Milligan turned down Bani Yas in June 2013, with the Abu Dhabi-outfit pulling out of negotiations in January 2014 after falling to agree a transfer fee. The former Shanghai Shenhua and JEF United player, however, seemed open to making another foreign move this summer when he spoke to Australian newspaper Herald Sun after Saturday’s 3-0 A-League grand final thrashing of Sydney FC.

    “It’s like anything, you always want to challenge yourself, whether it be at a professional level, sporting level or life in general,’’ Milligan said.

    “Not that I’ve heard of (clubs being interested). Obviously I’ll only hear of things late on in the piece if there is anything.

    “I’m very happy at Melbourne, we’ve had a great year, a very successful year. I’ve made it very clear that my family is enjoying it here, but you never know what’s around the corner.

    “I want to make sure I’m in the best place to continue playing football and enjoying it and make sure that I’m playing for as long as possible.’’

    Milligan is expected to fly to the UAE in the coming days to complete the formalities to join as the Asian player in boss Luis Garcia’s four-player foreign quota.

    This is likely to be combined with his Socceroos duties, Ange Postecoglou’s side spending a week-long training camp in Dubai ahead of their opening World Cup 201 qualifier at Kyrgyzstan on June 16.

    Milligan has enjoyed a stellar few months at club and international level. He was a key performer for Australia as they swept to Asian Cup glory – beating UAE in the semi-final – on home soil in January, then skippering Victory to dominant domestic success after they finished top of the 2014/15 A-League table and triumphed in the grand final.

    His imminent arrival is likely to mean Swedish-Palestinian forward Imad Khalili’s short stay at Bani Yas ended with him missing the only penalty during Saturday’s President’s Cup quarter-final shootout loss to Al Shabab.

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